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OEETIFIOATES. 


WE,  the  undersigned,  late  prisoners  of  War  at  Andersonville,  Ga 
Florence,  S.  C.,  and  other  places,  do  hereby  certify  that  the  work 
entitled  "  LIFE  AND  DEATH  IN  REBEL  PRISONS,"  by  Robert  II.  Kel 
logg,  is  a  faithful  and  reliable  account  of  the  inhuman  course  of 
treatment  adopted  by  the  Rebel  Authorities  toward  us ;  and  that 
the  description  of  daily  prison  life,  with  its  terrible  sufferings  and 
frightful  mortality  is  in  nowise  an  exaggeration. 

NAME,  RANK,  REGIMENT,  AND  PLACE  OF  IMPRISONMENT. 
HARVEY  L.  JEWELL,  Hospital  Steward  15th  N.  Y.  Cav., 

Andersonville  and  Florence. 
PIERRE  A.  GUY,  1st  Serg't  Co.  D   llth  Conn.  Vols., 

Andersonville,  Savannah,  and  Millen. 
C.  H.  BRUSH,  1st  Se*rg't  Co,  K  1st  Vt.  H'vy  Art., 

Andersonville  and  Florence. 
JOHN  W.  DICKINSON,  1st  Serg't  Co.  L  1st  Vt.  H'vy  Art., 

Andersonville,  Charleston,  and  Florence. 
ALEXANDER  DUNCAN,  Serg't   Co.  K  103d  Pa,  Vols., 

Andersonville,  Charleston,  and  Florence. 
S.  J.  GRISWOLD,  Serg't  Co.  B  16th  Conn.  Vols., 

Andersonville,  Charleston,  and  Florence. 
CIIAS.  GREY,  Serg't  Co.  B  27th  Mass.  Vols., 

Andersonville,  Savannah,  and  Millen. 
HENRY  E.  SAVAGE,  Serg't  Co.  G  16th  Conn.  Vols., 

Andersonville,  Charleston,  and  Florence. 
JAS.  COOPER,  Corp.  Co.  A  103d  Pa.  Vols., 

Andersouville,  Charleston,  and  Florence. 
JAS.  P.  Cox,  Private  Co.  B  1st  N.  J.  Vols., 

Andersonville,  Charleston,  and  Florence. 
CIIAS.  TOBIAS,  Private  Co.  K  1st.  Vt.  H'vy  Art., 

Andersonville,  Savannah  and  Millen. 

GEO.  BOWERS,  Priv.  Co.  F  8th  N.  J.  Vols.,  Andersonville  &  Florence. 
JEFF.  MOORE,  Priv.  Co.  C  23d  Pa.  Cav.,  "  " 

WALTER  DIXON,  Priv.  Co.  C  llth  N.  J.  Vols.,       "  " 

S.  0.  BKLLEAJKAC,  Priv.  Co.  D  4th        do.  "  " 

PAT.  BRADLEY,  Priv.  Co.  II  2d  Mass.  H'vy  Art.,     "  " 

RICH.  PATTERSON,  Priv.  Co.  C  43d  N.  Y.  Vols.,      "  " 

JOHN  DUNN,  Priv.  Co.  G  101st  Pa.  Vols., 

Andersonville,  Charleston,  and  Florence, 


LIFE  AND  DEATH 


IN 


EEBEL  PRISONS: 


GIVING   A    COMPLETE 

HISTORY  OF  THE  INHUMAN  AND  BARBAROUS  TREATMENT 
OF    OUR   BRAVE   SOLDIERS   BY  REBEL  AUTHORITIES, 
INFLICTING  TERRIBLE  SUFFERING  AND  FRIGHT 
FUL    MORTALITY,   PRINCIPALLY    AT 

ANDERSONVILLE,  GA,,  AND  FLORENCE,  S,  C., 

DESCRIBING 

PLANS   OF  ESCAPE,  ARRIVAL  OF  PRISONERS,  WITH  NUMEROUS  AND 
VARIED  INCIDENTS  AND  ANECDOTES  OF  PRISON  LIFE. 


ROBERT  H.  KELLOGG, 

Sergeant-Major  16th  Regiment  Connecticut  Volunteers. 


PREPARED  FROM  HIS  DAILY  JOURNAL. 


TO  wrncn  is  ADDED 

AS  FULL  SKETCHES  OF  OTHER  PRISONS  AS  CAN  BE  GIVEN  WITHOUT 

REPETITION   OF   THE   ABOVE,  BY  PARTIES  WHO   HAVE 

BEEN  CONFINED  THEREIN. 


•  We  speak  that  we  do  know,  and  testify  that  we  have  seen.' 
ILLUSTRATED.— SOLD  BY  AGENTS  ONLY. 


HARTFORD,    CONN. 

L.    STEBBINS 
18G5. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1865,  by 
L.    STEBBINS, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  for  the  District  of 
Connecticut. 


Prinled  by  Wiley,  Waterman,  &  Kuton,  Ilurtford,  Conn. 


TO  THE 
WIDOWS,  CHILDREN,  FATHERS,  MOTHERS,  BROTHERS  AND  SISTERS, 

OF  THE  THOUSANDS  OF  BRAVE  MEN 
WHO  HAVE  LEFT  THEIR  HOMES  IN  THE  MORNING  OF  LIFE; 

SUNDERED  FAMILY  AND  SOCIAL  TIES; 
ABANDONED  CHERISHED  ENTERPRISES  AND  BUSINESS  SCHEMES, 

FOR  THE  PURPOSE  OF 

MAINTAINING  THE  LAWS  OF  FREEDOM  INVIOLATE, 

AND  IN  THE  FAITHFUL  PERFORMANCE  OF  THEIR  DUTY, 

HATE  BEEN  CAPTURED  BY  THE  ENEMY, 

AND  GONE  DOWN 

TO    UNTIMELY    GRAVES    THROUGH    UNPARALLELED    SUFFERINGS, 

IS  THIS  VOLUME  MOST    RESPECTFULLY 

DEDICATED. 


"THEY  SLEEP  IN  SECRET,— BUT  THEIR  SOD 

UNKNOWN  TO  MAN,  IS  MARK'D  BY  GOD  ! 


227749 


the  memory  of 
the  thousands 
of  our  brave 
soldiers  who 
have  sacrificed 
themselves  upon 
the  altar  of  their 
country,  in  de 
fence  of  her  laws 
and  institutions ; 
her  liberties  and 
rights.     With  the 
courage  and  ardor 
of  Patriots ;  with 
the  enthusiasm  of 
loyal  subjects  un 
der  a  good  Govern 
ment  ;  with  the  in 
telligence  and   zeal 
of  Union-loving  citi 
zens,  and  an  unself 
ish  devotion  to  the 
lofty  principles  of 
truth  and  justice, 
and  an  eye  upon  the 
basis  of  alasting 
peace,  they  went  forth 
pledging  "  their  lives 
and  sacred  honor,"  in 
maintenance  of  the 
glorious  cause.     Many 
have    languished   and 
died    in    Prisons,    and 
thus    sleep    the    noble 
youth  of  our  country; 
the    pride  of  the  land ; 
the  heroic  sons,  of  our 
worthy  sires,  and  the 
honored  brave  of  o  u  r 
Spartan-likemothers.  They 
have  fallen.     Like  autumn 
leaves  at  touch   of  frost, 
they  have  been   swept  to 
the  earth,    where   they  lie 
in   undistinguished    piles 
The  hearts    of   the    people 
shall   be    their    tombs,   but 
marble  and  granite  should  be  lifted 
high,  as  the  testimonial  of  grateful 
mankind  for    the   deeds   they    have 
done,    and    the    radiant   glory  with 
which  they  have  crowned  the  nation 

ANDERSONVILLE,MILLEN,  CO 
LUMBIA,  FLORENCE,  TYLER 
SALISBURY,  CAHAWBA,  DAN 
VILLE,LIBBY,PEMBERTON 
CASTLE  THUNDER  BELLE  ISLE 


PREFACE, 


No  CHAPTER  in  the  history  of  our  unhappy  civil  war,  is  so  well 
calculated  to  enlist  the  sympathies  of  the  people,  as  the  one  enumera 
ting  the  sorrows  of  our  brave  soldiers  who  have  been  so  unfortunate 
as  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  as  prisoners-  of  war. 

The  multiplied  woes  of  the  battle-field ;  the  sufferings  of  the  sick 
and  wounded  in  Hospitals  which  our  own  Government  has  provided, 
are  almost  the  enjoyments  of  Paradise,  in  comparison  with  the  fearful 
and  prolonged  agonies  of  Prisoners  in  Rebel  Stockades. 

Sad  and  mournful  as  it  seems  in  the  former  case,  there  are  mitiga 
ting  circumstances  which  tend  to  soothe  the  feelings  as  we  contemplate 
them.  Their  sufferings  are  comparatively  short,  and  during  the  season 
of  their  continuance  they  are  surrounded  by  those  who  are  assiduous 
in  effort  to  provide  comfort  and  relief.  Agents  of  the  various  humane 
societies  can  reach  them  and  do  them  good ;  but  in  the  latter  case,  they 
have  passed  the  line  which  bars  them  from  all  these  things, 

We  are  even  forced  to  believe,  by  the  treatment  to-  which  they  have 
been  subjected  by  their  captors,  that  it  was  their  deliberate  intention  to 
destroy  them,  and  that  too  in  the  most  aggravated  manner.  They 
have  allowed  them  to  become  so  reduced  in  clothing  as  to  have  scarcely 
rags  for  a  covering ;  they  have  condemned  them  to  hunger  and  thirst, 
pain  and  weariness,  affliction  and  misery  in  every  conceivable  form,  so 
that  the  helpless  beings  have  looked  upon  the  approach  of  the  King  of 
Terrors  as  the  arrival  of  a  welcome  messenger  that  had  come  to  bring 
them  a  happy  release. 

When  we  consider  these  things,  and  our  interest  in,  and  relation  to 
the  cause  which  led  them  to  peril  their  lives  in  this  way,  we  can  but 
feel  that  the  public  at  large  have  a  deep  concern  in  these  recitals. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  present  volume,  we  have  had  an  eye,  not 
so  much  to  a  literary  production,  as  to  a  simple,  truthful  story  of  prison 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

life;   one  which  the   survivors  thereof  should  recognize  as  just,  and 
the  people  of  the  country  could  accept  as  reliable  and  honest. 

It  is  no  place  for  brilliant  fiction  and  exciting  romance.  These  have 
been  scrupulously  avoided,  but  nevertheless,  there  are  things  which  are 
as  strange  as  the  former  and  stirring  as  the  latter. 

If  there  are  things  which  seem  incredible,  it  is  to  be  borne  in  mind 
that  hitherto  we  have  had  but  slight  knowledge  of  what  is  meant  to 
be  a  prisoner  at  the  far  South,  and  that  these  things  come  to  us  almost 
as  new  revelations. 

Not  an  incident  has  been  given  but  what  can  be  confirmed  on  good 
authority;  no  coloring  has  been  given  to  anything  but  what  known 
facts  would  justify. 

Theauthor  has  gone  fully  into  detail  of  every-day  life  at  Anderson- 
ville,  as  here  was  the  spot  where  the  climax  of  rebel  barbarity  was 
reached. 

It  was  the  original  design  to  have  adopted  a  similar  plan  with  refer 
ence  to  some  other  prominent  Prisons,  but  on  consultation  with  differ 
ent  parties  who  had  been  discharged  from  these  various  points,  it  was 
found  to  be  substantially  the  same,  and  would  therefore  be  only  repe 
tition. 

The  short  sketches  which  we  give  of  these,  will  enable  the  public  to 
form  a  correct  idea  of  the  general  system  of  treatment  applied  by  the 
rebels  to  our  soldiers  who  fall  into  their  hands  as  prisoners. 

The  spirited  and  striking  illustrations  which  were  obtained  expressly 
for  these  pages ;  the  plans  of  prisons,  &c.,  &c.,  are  executed  in  a  cred 
ible  style,  and  form  an  attractive  feature  of  the  whole. 

As  the  author  had  only  a  short  furlough  of  thirty  days,  it  became 
necessary  to  obtain  a  person  accustomed  to  such  work  to  prepare  the 
manuscript  for  the  press,  and  attend  to  the  reading  of  the  proof.  In 
changing  the  style  of  the  journal  to  a  running  narrative,  the  langauge  is 
often  different  from  the  original,  but  the  facts  are  strictly  observed. 

PUBLISHER. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  1.  Page. 

Situation  of  Plymouth,                                                   -            -  21 

The  Garrison ;  Forts  and  Naval  Fleet,       -  22 

Sabbath  Attack  of  the  17th  of  April,                                       -  24 
First  appearance  of  Cavalry  Pickets  in  Town, 

The  Federal  Forces  holding  the  Town  ;  Attack  upon  Fort  Gray,  26 

Wives  of  Loyal  North  Carolinians  sent  to  Koanoke  Island,  27 

Wounding  of  Captain  Burke,  -                                                     -  28 

Eifect  of  National  Airs  at  the  Breastworks,  29 

Sinking  the  Southfield,                                                                -  SO 

The  Rebels  charge  upon  Plymouth  Redoubts,        -  32 
Gen.  Hoke  demands  surrender ;  the  Federal  Officer  refuses,  and 

the  capture  of  his  men  is  the  result,  33 
March  to  Secessia ;  Camping-ground  at  Night,  •  35 
Treatment  of  the  35th  N.  C.  Regiment,  as  Guards,  30 
Arrival  at  Williamstown,  N.  C.  The  Soldiers  send  letters  North,  37 
Entrance  into  the  yard  of  a  man  who  had  taken  the  oath  of  alle 
giance  to  Uncle  Sam,  -  -  38 
Reflections  the  first  Sabbath  after  the  capture,  -  39 
The  ranks  searched  for  Rebel  Deserters,  -  -  40 
Yankee  Trades  to  satisfy  hunger,  -  41 
'  Prisoners  sent  to  Goldsboro,  N.  C.,  -  -  -  -  43 
The  remainder  sent  from  Tarboro,  •  46 
Miserable  Fare  at  Wilmington,  -  -  48 
Immense  Fire  kindled  by  a  Soldier,  49 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  First  of  May  in  Charleston,                                                 -  50 

Reception  of  the  "Plymouth  Pilgrims,"    -  51 

The  Georgia  Central  Railroad ;  Arrival  at  Macon,       -             -  53 
The  Regiment  reach  Andersonville ;  manner  in  which  they  were 

classed  and  divided,      ...             -             -  55 
,  Fearful  spectacle  on  entering  the  Prison,  -                                    I  66 


1? 


CONTENTS. 


Rations  ;  efforts  to  procure  shelter ;  Death's  exchange,  -  59 

Warnings  of  the  old  Prisoners  concerning  the  "Dead  Line,"  61 
Gen.  Cobb's  Visit  of  Inspection ;  Plan  of  Escape ;  Blood-hounds 

put  upon  their  track,  -  -  -  -  C4 

Narrow  escape  from  Death,  ....  55 

The  Lawless  Gang,  called  "Mosby's  Raiders,"  in  Prison,  -  67 

The  Lifeless  Bodies  of  Ten  Men  lying  at  the  Gate,  -  69 
A  Sick  Man's  Bath  in  the  Prison  Stream,  -  -  .70 

Demonstration  at  a  Sham  Fight,  -  -  .  .  71 

Treatment  of  Prisoners  by  Rebels  and  Federals  contrasted,  -  73 

The  cruel  suspicions  forced  upon  men,  -  -  -  75 
True  spirit  of  the  Union  Soldiers,  -  -  -  .70 

Hopes  excited  by  the  Promise  of  Exchange,  -  77 
Account  of  the  Battle  between  Grant  and  Lee,  by  the  "Macon 

Telegraph,"  -  -  79 
A  Rebel  Oificer  calling  for  a  Sergeant  who  could  write  his  name,  80 

The  Thirteen  in  a  Hospital  Tent,  -  81 

Rebel  Forces  sent  to  Dalton  to  oppose  Sherman,  -  -  83 

Arrival  of  Prisoners ;  slight  attention  to  comfort,  -  85 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Rebels  discover  a  Tunnel ;  threats  in  consequence,         -  87 

A  Secret  Organization  to  devise  new  Plans  of  Escape,      -  88 

A  Picnic  among  the  "Johnnies,"         -                                       -  90 

New  Prisoners  robbed  by  the  Prison  Marauders,  -  91 

Richmond  History,  called  "The  Second  Year  of  the  War,"  92 

The  Messenger  Rainbow,   -  93 

Sabbath  in  Rebel  Prison,          -                                                    -  94 

A  Cripple  shot  for  going  inside  the  "Dead  Line,"  95 

Death  again  in  the  Tent  of  the  Thirteen ;  a  Prayer  Meeting,  96 

Punishment  for  Violation  of  Orders,          •  98 

Captured  Men  from  Resaca,     -            -                                      -  loo 

Enlargement  of  the  Prison  Limits,            -            -  102 

The  Stockade  undermined,       ...                          .  103 

Disclosure  of  the  Plot  to  Capt.  Wirtz,       -     -       -  104 

Notice  of  Captain  posted  upon  the  Prison  Gate,  -  -  105 
The  Men  from  Grant's  Army  robbed  of  Coats,  Blankets,  and 

Haversacks,       -  106 

Energy  of  Character  necessary  for  the  Prisoner,  -  107 

Rebel  Effort  and  Yankee  Ingenuity,   -            -            -  109 


CONTENTS.  13 

Manner  of  Distributing  the  Rations,           •  110 

Camp  Raiders  and  False  Promises,      -                          -  -       113 

The  "  Old  Dutchman,"        -  115 
Entrance  of  some  of  the  1st  Mass.  Regiment  into  Prison,     -       117 

•  The  "Modus  Operand!"  of  Tunneling,       -  118  • 
A  severe  Rain  Storm,  - 

Jeff.  Davis  asking  for  an  Armistice,  123 

•  Visit  to  the  Woods,      -  -       126  • 
Agitation  of  the  Rebel  Element,     - 

•  Camp  Surroundings,     -                           •             •  -131' 
The  caving  of  a  Tunnel  after  being  sunk  ninety  feet,  -             132 
Hints  concerning  Retaliation,  -  -       134 
Measures  to  Retain  Activity  of  Mind,         -  135 
Question  raised  by  suffering  from  Cold  and  Exposure,  -       138 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Prisoners  from  Butler's  and  Grant's  Army,  with  the  Dog  "Trip,"  139 

A  Yankee  Traitor,        -  140 

Confidential  Talk  with  a  Union  Man,                        -  141 

•  A  Man  buried  alive ;  two  Men  wounded ;   Gen.  Sturgis,  -       143 

Gold  News  from  New  York ;  Corporal  B ,    -  -             144 

Reward  for  Shooting  a  Soldier,                                        -  -       146  - 

•  How  the  Remedies  for  the  Sick  were  obtained,      -  -             147 

•  July  7th,  the  promised  Day  of  Exchange,       -  -       149 
Prisoners  who  had  been  Robbed,  sent  to  Gen.  Winder  for  set 
tlement,       -             -                          -             -  -             150 

Going  for  Wood ;  Story  of  the  Lost  Knife,     -  -       1.V2 

An  exciting  Robbery ;  one  Man  Killed,     -  155 

•  The  Rebel  Quartermaster  and  Limber  Jim,     -             -  -       156 
Completion  of  the  Addition  to  the  Stockade,         -  -             157 
Night  efforts  of  the  Prisoners  to  obtain  Fuel,              -  -       158   ' 

•  A  School  for  Patience,        -             -             .            .  .             159 

•  Discouragement  leading  to  Insanity,    -             -  162 
Prison  Celebration  of  July  4th,      ...  163 

•  Visit  of  the  Catholic  Priest,     -             -             -             -  -       163 
Meeting  by  the  Brook-side,  •             165 

•  Death  of  J.  Hoskins,   -                          -  -       166 
Suffering  for  the  want  of  Good  Watet,      -  168 

»  Sentence  of  Death  by  Hanging ;  Escape  of  one  of  the  Victims ; 

His  Re-capture,  -                                      -  171 


14  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  Y. 

Building  a  Mud  Stove ;  Capt.  Wirtz  declaring  a  new  Outbreak 

disclosed,                                               -  -            -      177 

Sudden  Marshaling  of  the  Rebel  Forces,   -            -  -            178 

*  Preaching  by  Elder  Shephard,              -             -  -             -       180 

•  Last  Hours  of  D ,  of  the  16th  Regiment,     -  -             181 

A  Petition  of  the  Prisoners,  urging  the  President  and  Govern 
ors  of  States  to  procure  release  for  them,  -  182 

Within  and  Without,  .                          -             -  -             -       183 

•  Men  caught  while  at  work  in  a  Tunnel,      -  185 
Bartering  a  Gold  Pen  for  Food,  -       187 
A  Vote  upon  the  "Petition"  called  for,     -  188 
Early 's  Cavalry  Prisoners,        -                           -  -                     189 
White  Flags,  -             190 
Attempt  to  entice  Prisoners  to  make  Shoes  for  the  Confederate 

Government,             -                                       -  191 

*  Conversation  with  one  of  the  Rebel  Guard,    -  -                    192 
Peculiarities  of  Southern  Dialect,  -                          -  193 
Views  of  a  Kentucky  Surgeon  upon  Slavery,  -  194 

*  Service  of  a  Confederate  Chaplain,  -             195 
Thunderstorms,  -       196 

^Victim  of  Insanity  in  the  Prison  Stream ;  Various  Forms  of 

Derangement,    -  197 

*  A  Living  Man  devoured  by  Maggots,         -  198 
Lines  on'a  Blank  Leaf  of  a  Bible,       -             -  -                    199 
Sentiments  of  a  "  Secesh  "  Young  Lady  as  written  to  her  Lover,    200 
The  Rebel  Flag,  -       2ol 
Lieut.  Strains  and  his  Party,  2<>3 
Organization  of  the  Regimental  Church,         -  -       2<)4 
Corporal  Flower,  of  Hartford,  Ct.,  206 

•  A  Prisoner  accidentally  shot,  -             -  -       208 
A  Terrific  Rain  Storm,        -  2C.9 
Risking  Life  to  obtain  Wood,              -  210 

CHAPTER  VI. 

•  Confidence  in  the  Government,                        -  -                   215 

•  Human  Nature  as  manifest  in  the  Confederacy ;  Taunts  of  a  cer 

tain  Officer  of  the  Day,  -       218 

*  Intensity  of  Home  Longings,         -                          -  220 
Jimmy  B -,  of  Company  A,         -  221 


CONTENTS.  15 

Photographic  Artists  from  Macon,         -  -     223 

The  appearance  of  Scurvy,  223 

•  Joy  at  news  of  the  arrival  of  Northern  Letters,  -     225 
Effect  of  Peace  Sensation  Stories,  -  227 

•  Sickness  of  Capt.  Wirtz  ;  Character  of  his  Successor,  -  228 

Visit  of  a  Confederate  Captain,  -  229 

Personal  attack  of  Scurvy,  -  -  231 

New  Regime  instituted  by  Lieut.  Davis,  -  -  232 

Rebel  Boastings  of  Prison  Representatives,  -  -  234 

Queries  upon  conditions  of  Exchange,  -  -  235 
Return  of  the  Prison  Commandant,  ....  236 

•>  Kind  Act  of  Gen.  Winder,  233 

Demise  of  Orderly  Sergeant  L ,  of  Co.  C,  -  239 

•  Desire  of  the  Prisoner  to  die  at  Home,       ...  241 

•  The  Day  of  Deliverance  hailed  with  Joy,  ...     240 

•  The  dying  Message  of  Evans,           ....  242 
Loyal  North  Carolinians,                                                      -  -     243 
"Flanking  out;"  Orders  to  be  ready  for  moving,    -             -  245 

•  Sorrowful  Thoughts  induced  by  leaving,  ...     240 

CHAPTER  VII. 

'    "Wide  felt  Interest  in  the  Hospital,         -  -     247 

Its  situation  at  Andersonville,  248    ;' 

Reluctance  of  the  Men  to  enter  so  wretched  a  place,     -  -     249    \ 

•  The  miserable  condition  of  the  Sick,  251 
A  Sacrifice  seemingly  useless,    -             -                          -  -     252 

•  Loyal  Men  treated  like  Convicts,     ....  254 
Character  of  Physicians,                                       -  -     256 
The  Sick-call,  257 

f  A  Prisoner  Shot  while  warming  himself,  -     200 

•  Cruel  manifestation  of  selfishness,  -  261 
Rations  for  the*  Sick,      -  -     262 

.  Living  Skeletons — variety  of  disease,  263 

Fearful  working  of  Gangrene,  -     268 

The  Sick  Men  tormented  with  Vermin,         -             -  270 

Rebel  Testimony  respecting  Hospital  Treatment,  -     271 

Tenacity  of  Life,       -  273 

Incident  in  the  life  of  D.  S.  Birdsell,     -  -     274 

•  The  Dead-House,      -  276 
»  Marking  and  Numbering  the  Dead ;  Manner  of  carrying  them 

out,   -            -                         ....  278 


10 


CONTENTS. 


•  Place  of  Burial,                                         ....  279 
Want  and  Woe  leaving  Devotion  to  the  Union  Cause  unim 
paired,    -                                       ....  231 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

Departure  from  Prison,                                                                 .  283 

•  Delight  at  beholding  the  Green  Earth  again,                          -  284 
The  Soldiers'  Reception  at  Augusta ;  Kindness  of  Mrs.  O'Don- 

nell,  -  28 G 

Interview  with  a  Rebel  Soldier,  ....  287 
„.  Entrance  into  Charleston ;  the  Men  told  it  was  but  a  hurried 

removal,               ......  289 

The  Race  Course  appropriated  as  Camp  Ground,     -  290 
Disappointment  of  the  Men ;  A  New  Organization,      -             -292 

No  escape  from  the  "  Dead  Line,"  -  294 

Call  of  a  Rebel  Officer  for  Volunteers  to  do  Service  for  them,  -  295 

Sisters  of  Charity,    -----.  29(5 

My  admission  into  the  Hospital,             -                                       -  2i;9 

»The  reasonings  of  Faith  to  inspire  Courage,  3oo 

Act  that  savored  of  Inhumanity  to  the  Men,     -                          -  3u2 

•  A  Scene  in  the  Room  for  Amputation,         -  30-1 
The  Rebel  Sutler  and  his  Prices,                         ...  3(,(j 
A  Rebel  Soldier's  Disobedience  of  Orders,                •  8o7 
Anecdote  of  the  Young  Surgeon,          -  308 

•Union  Song,  310 

Shelling  of  the  City  by  Union  Soldiers,  -  311 

Appearance  of  the  Yellow  Fever;  Humorous  Incident,  -  312 

^ Journey  to  Florence;  Story  of  the  Man  who  feigned  Death,  -  814 

The  Darkie  Woman  and  her  Bread,  315 

CHAPTER  IX. 

'  Night  Entrance  into  Florence  ;  Emotions  at  sight  of  the  Stock 
ade,  -  -  316 
Oath  of  Allegiance  to  the  Confederacy,  -  819 
Admission  to  the  Florence  Hospital  through  Dr.  Strother, '  -  820 
Detailed  as  Hospital  Steward ;  Signing  Parole  of  Honor,  -  322 
Sentiments  of  Assistant  Surgeon,  Junius  O'Brien,  -  -  323 

*  Supplies  from  the  Sanitary  Commission,       -  323 

*  Insufficiency  of  Medicines,         -                                                     -  324 
Dr.  Garrett  and  the  Plantation  Burials,       -            -  325 


CONTENTS.  17 

The  Doctor  who  was  an  Original  Signer  of  the  Secession  Act,  826 

Exchange  of  Cotton  for  Potatoes,          -                                       -  327 

Excitement  at  the  Presidential  Election — Ballots  and  Beans,  £29 

Barbarous  Punishment  at  Florence  for  attempting  to  Escape,  331 

O'Brien'a  Instructions  to  the  Prisoners,        -  335 

Amusing  Trade  of  a  "Johnnie,"                                                    -  330 

Employment  of  Slaves,         -                          -  337 

•  Religious  Element  of  the  Negro,                                                    -  338 
Character  of  their  Songs  ;  Rev.  Mr.  Gardner,  of  the  135th  Ohio 

Regiment,  a  Victim  of  Death,    -                                      -  339 

Sad  Reduction  of  Rations  at  the  Hospital,                -             •  840 

1  Cruelty  of  Lieut.  Barrett,                                     -                          -  341 

»  Thanksgiving  Day  as  a  Prisoner,    -  342 

Signing  the  Parole,         -                                       ...  343 

A  Stolen  Interview  of  two  Rebels.               ...  344 

Introduction  to  Savannah ;  A  Wealthy  Cotton  Factor  ;  The  Pie 

Woman,  -  847 
Saying  of  Dr.  Orme  to  Steward  Reed,  of  the  12th  N.  Y.  Regi 
ment,  as  he  was  leaving,  -  -  -  -  348 
What  was  felt  at  Sight  of  the  Old  Flag,  -  -  350 
Receiving  and  Clothing  Ship,  -  -  -  -  -  851 
The  Feeding  Ship  Crescent,  ....  352 
Manifestations  of  Joy  by  the  Released  Prisoners,  -  -  353 
Meeting  with  a  Naval  Vessel,  ....  355 
Weighing  Anchor  at  Annapolis,  .  •  -  856 

CHAPTER  X. 

Situation  of  Libby ;  its  Name  synonomous  with  Terror,  -  358 

»  Abusive  Treatment,  -  -  360 

.  Men  Shot  for  looking  through  the  Window,  -  -  -  3G3 

Description  by  E.  Kirke,        -            -                                       -  8fi4 

Associations  of  Castle  Thunder,             ....  367 
The  distinction  made  by  Southerners  between  Gentlemen  and 

Common  People,    ------  368 

Glimpse  at  Belle  Isle,            •           '-            -            -            -  369 

Story  of  Howard  Leedom,          -             ....  371 

*  Men  Frozen  to  Death,           ....  372 

*  The  Natural  Consequences  of  War,       -            -            -            -  873 

Driginal  Design  of  Salisbury  Prison,            -            -            -  871 


18  CONTENTS. 

Testimony  of  Mr.  Richardson,  •                                      -            -  376 

Description  of  it  as  viewed  by  Mr.  Brown,  -             -  882 

Imperfect  Idea  of    Southern  imprisonment,      -                          -  884 

Raleigh  a  comparatively  Favored  Place,       -           .  -             -  385 

Kind  Attention  of  the  Union  Ladies,     -            -            .            -  386 

Surroundings  of  Millen  Prison,         -             -             .            -  389 

Number  confined  there,              .....  890 

•The  fearful  Mortality  of  the  Place,               -            -             -  891 
•  Rations — their  quantity  and  quality ;  Inducements  to  join  the 

Confederacy,               -             -            -            -  892 
Excitement  at  the  Presidential  Election,             -                          -393 

Humanity  of  the  Guards  ;  Barbarous  Act  of  a  Rebel  Surgeon,  394 

Reason  for  a  Hurried  Removal,                     -            -            -  395 

The  Country's  Sacrifice,  39G 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Midnight  Storm — Our  Miserable  Lodgings,          -             -  1 

Stockade  at  Andereonville,     .....  57 

Blood  Hounds  Capturing  Prisoners,         -  -     02 

Mode  of  Dealing  Out  Rations,          -             -            -             -  111 

Hanging  Union  Prisoners,             -             -             -  -  174 

Break  in  the  Stockade,            -             -            -            -  211 
Plan  of  Hospital,  Anderson  ville,              ....  257 

Interior  View  of  Hospital,     .....  2C.5 

Plan  of  Stockade  at  Florence,     -            -            -            -  -318 

Hanging  by  the  Thumbs,        .....  333 

View  of  Libby  Prison.                 •            •            -            •  -  3G1 


THE  PRINCIPAL  REBEL  PRISONS  AND  WHERE  LOCATED. 
,  Anclcrsonville,  Sumpter  County,  Ga.,  known  south  as  Camp  Sumter. 
-    Milieu,  Burke  County,  Ga.,  "  "       Camp  Law  ton. 

Columbia,  Lexington  County,  S.  C ,     "  "    Camp  Sorghum, 

Florence,  Darlington  County,  S.  C. 

Tyler,  Smith  County,  Texas,  "  "  Camp  Ford. 

Salisbury,  Rowan  County,  N.  C. 
Cahawba,  Dallas  County,  Ala. 
Danville,  Pottsylvania  County,  Va. 
Xibby,  Richmond,  Va. 
Pemberton,  Richmond,  Va. 
.  Castle  Thunder,  Richmond,  Va. 
.Belle  Isle,  in  James  River,  little  below  Richmond. 
Macon  and  Savannah,  Ga.,  Charleston  and  Blackstone,  S.  C.,  and 
Raloigh,  N.  C.,  have  ocen  prison  posts,  t>ut  are  now  abandoned. 

In  the  absence  of  much  data  on  the  subject,  we  can  not  give  any  ac 
curate  account  of  the  number  of  deaths  in  rebel  prisons ;  yet  if  we 
give  the  subject  a  thought  and  go  into  some  calculations,  we  may  form 
a  more  correct  opinion  than  we  otherwise  should.     Mr.  Richardson, 
correspondent  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  says  the  deaths  at  Salisbury, 
N.  C.,  were  13  per  cent,  per  month.     Mr.  Kellogg  says  it  was  12  per 
cent,  for  the  same  time  at  Florence,  S.  C.     The  deaths  were  13,000  at 
Andersonvillc.     The  author  says  nearly  one-half  of  his  regiment  cap 
tured,  died  in  about  seven  months.     If  we  assume  that  the  prisoners 
will  average  20,000  from  January  1st,  1862,  to  February  1st,  1865, 
and  the  deaths  to  be  10  per  cent,  per  month,  or  2,000,  then  multiply 
by  37  months,  we  have  74,000  deaths.     With  such  clothing,  shelter, 
food,  means  of  keeping  clean  and  medical  attendance  as  the  laws  of 
health  absolutely  require,  would  the  deaths  have  been  more  than  one- 
tenth  the  number?  if  not,  we  have,  on  the  above  estimate,  66,600  vic 
tims  of  inhuman  treatment.     Our  estimate  of  the  number  of  prisoners 
may  be  too  large.     Richmond  papers  assert  that  150,000  have  entered 
Libby  Prison.     The  per  centage  of  deaths  may  be  too  large;  but  al 
lowing  the  estimates  to  bo  nearly  right,  the  rebels  have  killed  about  as 
many  in  prisons  as  on  the  battle-field — whether  designedly  or  not  we 
leave  the  reader  to  judge. 


LIFE  IN  EEBEL  PRISONS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

SITUATION    OF    PLYMOUTH. 

ON  the  Roanoke  river  in  North  Carolina, 
about  eight  miles  from  the  Sound,  lies  the 
town  of  Plymouth,  a  place  once  important  on 
account  of  its  highly  advantageous  position  as 
a  depot,  through  which  might  pass,  in  trans 
portation,  the  products  of  the  State. 

Tar,  rosin  and  pitch,  the  prominent  and  well- 
known  articles  of  manufacture  in  this  land  of 
Pines  were  brought  from  all  parts  of  the  inte 
rior  to  this  point  as  a  place  of  shipment,  and 
consequently  it  came  to  be  more  or  less  identi 
fied  with  the  interests  of  the  southern  people ; 
so  that  it  was  not  strange  they  should  make 
vigorous  efforts  to  keep  it  in  their  possession, 
or  failing  in  this  for  a  time,  would  again  renew 


22  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

their  attempts  to  wrest  it  from  the  hands  of 
their  antagonists. 

Eather  than  its  resources  should  be  employed 
in  enriching  those  they  deemed  their  enemies, 
they  sought  its  destruction  by  fire.  It  was 
partly  saved,  however,  and  by  the  force  of  cir 
cumstances,  afterward  became  appropriated  as 
the  most  northern  outpost  of  the  U.  S.  forces 
in  the  State.  Thus  held,  it  was  garrisoned  by 
four  regiments  of  infantry,  one  light  battery, 
two  companies  of  heavy  artillery,  and  a  few 
cavalry,  all  under  command  of  Brig.  Gen.  H. 
W.  Wessels,  a  noble  officer  and  a  brave  man. 
Three  forts — Gray,  Williams  and  Wessels — 
offered  grateful  protection  to  these  men,  while 
Compher  and  Coneby  redoubts,  and  a  line  of 
connecting  breast  works,  afforded  strong  ground 
of  hope  that  the  position  of  an  advancing  foe 
might,  at  least,  be  rendered  somewhat  uncom 
fortable  by  the  peculiar  greeting  they  might 
receive  in  consequence  of  these.  Added  to 
these,  and  designed  to  act  in  harmony  with  them 
was  the  naval  fleet,  consisting  of  the  gunboats 
"Miami,"  "Southfield,"  « Ceres,"  «  Whitehead," 
and  "Bomb-shell,"  under  command  of  Capt. 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  23 

Flusser.  So  far  as  these  were  concerned,  they 
certainly  presented  a  formidable  array  of  weap 
ons  with  which  to  hurl  missiles  of  deadliest 
intent  against  those  who  would  murderously 
assail  the  devoted  band  of  Unionists  to  whom 
was  assigned  the  duty  of  keeping  the  place 
from  invasion;  but  these,  be  they  never  so 
abundant,  are  fruitless,  without  the  requisite 
hands  to  work  them,  as  the  sequel  writh  its 
hopeless  sorrows  and  regrets  fully  proved  to  us. 
But  as  familiarity  with  anything,  even  with 
danger,  has  a  tendency  to  make  that  tolerable 
which  was  once  highly  forbidding,  so  while 
these  things  threw  about  us  their  friendly 
shadows,  a  feeling  of  comparative  security 
took  possession  of  our  minds,  and  fancy  rev 
eled  in  safety;  a  state  suggestive  of  that  of 
the  ancient  worthies,  who,  in  order  to  escape 
their  persecutors,  retired  to  the  secret  caves 
of  the  mountains — the  strength  of  the  hills 
their  covert ;  the  voiceless  woods  their  guard ; 
the  deep-toned  thunder  their  music;  their 
rocky  depths  only  illuminated  as  the  kindly 
sun  shed  pitiful  gleams  by  day,  and  the  stars 
came  out  in  solemn  parade  at  night,  to  assure 


24  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

them  that  the  might  of  Truth  should  eventu 
ally  conquer  their  foes,  and  let  the  burdened 
free. 

But  we  were  not  suffered  long  to  cherish 
the  illusions  of  fancy,  for  we  soon  found  our 
selves  in  a  condition  to  yield  to  the  sudden 
impulse  of  stern  necessity,  and  battle  for  that 
which  was  temporarily  our  kingdom  and  our 
crown. 

THE  ATTACK. 

The  morning  of  the  17th  of  April,  1864, 
dawned  upon  us  in  our  warlike  retreat  in  all 
the  beauty  and  loveliness  with  which  nature 
is  wont  to  adorn  herself  at  such  a  season  of 
the  year.  It  was  the  hallowed  day  of  the 
seven; — a  time  when  the  mind  of  the  soldier 
naturally  reverts  to  other  scenes  and  other 
days,  when  it  soothes  itself  by  the  remem 
brance  of  quiet  services  in  home  sanctuaries 
where  no  sights  or  sounds  give  evidence  of 
war,  except  it  be  of  that  moral  conflict  which 
the  individual  is  called  upon  to  wage  silently 
with  the  hosts  unseen.  Guard-mounting  was 
witnessed  as  usual,  and  at  the  roll-call  sixteen 
hundred  men  were  reported  for  duty.  All 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  25 

necessary  positions  being  occupied,  the  rest 
were  at  liberty  to  follow  their  inclinations, 
and  as  mine  sent  out  their  sweet  invitations 
to  repair  to  the  sacred  temple,  I  obeyed,  and 

listened  to  a  sermon  from  the  Rev,  Mr.  B , 

Chaplain  of  the  101st  Pennsylvania  Volun 
teers,  in  the  morning,  and  in  the  afternoon 
went  to  Grace  Church,  one  of  those  places 
still  left  open  to  lure  the  feet  of  the  Christian 
warrior,  wrhere  he  may  calmly  consider  the 
prospect  of  ultimate  victory  and  success  in 
the  holiest  warfare  in  which  man  can  engage ; 
— a  consideration  always  attended  by  that 
other  thought,  that  second  to  this  only  is  the 
national  strife  in  which  his  wrhole  energies  are 
enlisted,  and  which  he  is  bound  by  every  prin 
ciple  of  honor  and  justice  to  maintain,  until 
the  coveted  issue  shall  make  it  no  longer  a 
necessity. 

Just  at  the  close  of  the  services,  and  shortly 
before  the  hour  for  Dress  Parade,  while  yet 
the  impressions  of  the  day  were  thick  about 
us,  the  cavalry  pickets  came  dashing  into  town, 
having  been  driven  in  by  the  rebels.  Artil 
lery  and  cavalry  were  immediately  sent  out 


26  LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

to  ascertain  the  strength  of  the  enemy,  but 
they  soon  returned,  reporting  a  short  engage 
ment  with  a  superior  number,  in  which  one  of 
their  men  were  killed,  and  a  Lieutenant  badly 
wounded.  It  soon  became  manifest  that  we 
were  to  be  fearfully  pressed,  as  three  brigades 
of  infantry  were  bearing  down  upon  us,  to 
gether  with  a  heavy  siege  train  of  artillery, 
manned  by  a  revengeful  foe  who  were  eager 
to  take  possession  of  the  town,  and  send  us  to 
homes  they  had  provided  in  mercy  not  partic 
ularly  tender.  With  us  were  the  85th  N.  Y., 
commanded  by  Fardella,  an  Italian  officer,  the 
101st  P.  V.,  together  with  the  103d  of  the 
same  State,  under  Col.  Lehman ;  the  24th  N. 
Y.  Independent  Battery,  under  the  direction 
of  Capt.  Cady;  two  companies  Mass,  heavy 
artillery,  Capt.  Sampson,  and  a  slight  force  of 
the  12th  N.  Y.  cavalry. 

An  attack  was  made  upon  Fort  Gray,  a 
mile  or  so  above  the  town  on  the  river,  and 
as  the  shot  and  shell  came  swiftly  down  to  us 
upon  their  death-fraught  errands,  our  quick 
ened  apprehensions  were  not  slow  in  discover 
ing  the  propriety  of  using  all  available  means 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  27 

for  safety.  One  of  the  latter  striking  near 
the  tent  of  Capt.  Morse,  reminded  us  of  the 
thought,  that,  especially  in  war, 

There  is  but  a  step  'tween  life  and  death, 

One  moment  life's  pulses  play,  the  next,  soul  is  gone  with  the  breath. 

In  anticipation  of  the  battle  the  women 
and  children  of  the  town  were  placed  on 
board  the  steamer  "Massasoit,"  bound  for 
Eoanoke  Island,  among  which  were  the  wives 
of  loyal  North  Carolinians ;  of  men  whose 
attachment  to  the  Union  cause  could  not  be 
broken  by  threats ;  whose  devotion  to  the 
government  whose  fostering  care  they  had 
long  enjoyed,  nothing  could  quench,  and  there 
fore  they  had  enrolled  themselves  as  among 
the  truest  soldiers  of  the  Federal  cause  when 
the  crisis  appeared,  and  there  was  no  alterna 
tive  but  to  do  or  die ; — to  be  free  or  ruled 
with  despotic  power.  To  this  place,  whither 
these  were  sent  as  a  place  of  refuge,  Co.  H 
of  our  own  regiment,  the  16th  Ct.,  had  gone 
in  the  morning,  for  the  purpose  of  relieving 
some  other  troops,  and  were  thus  fortunate 
enough  to  escape  the  attack,  the  while,  suppos 
ing  we  were  resting  under  the  silent  wing  of 
2 


28  LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS. 


peace,  when  war's  chosen  arrows  were  flying 
thick  and  fast  about  us. 

The  morning  following  this  first  outbreak 
we  were  aroused  from  our  slumbers  before 
sunrise  by  the  roar  of  cannon,  and  the  dis 
turbance  occasioned;  the  half-conscious  state 
of  the  mental  faculties  which  was  speedily 
induced,  made  it  seem  that  what  was  strug 
gling  for  prominence  was  the  idea  that  it  was 
decided  incivility  on  the  part  of  the  "rebs" 
to  prompt  such  early  rising.  But  what  was 
wanting  in  dimness  of  vision  for  a  moment 
was  soon  made  up  in  the  keenness  which  we 
felt  inclined  to  exercise  in  the  survey  of  things 
about  us.  Everything  began  to  look  dark, 
and  signs  were  fearfully  ominous  of  what  was 
approaching.  About  7  o'clock,  Capt.  Burke 
came  in  from  the  skirmish  line  in  front, 
wounded  in  the  shoulder.  Firing  was  heard 
at  intervals  through  the  day,  but  no  general 
advance  until  nearly  dark,  when  the  enemy 
came  pouring  in  from  the  woods  in  great 
numbers,  and  charged  upon  our  line  of  skir 
mishers  with  their  characteristic  yell. 

The  few,  of  course  having  no  chance  before 


LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  29 

the  many,  they  retired  within  the  fortifica 
tions,  when  the  exultant  foe  rapidly  wheeled 
a  battery  into  position,  and  under  its  destruc 
tive  influence  our  beautiful  camp  was  soon 
completely  riddled,  and  Fort  Williams  pretty 
effectually  silenced. 

At  this  juncture,  Lt.  Col.  Burnham  ordered  ' 
the  Band  to  the  breast-works,  and  bade  them 
strike  up  some  national  airs,  and  though  they 
might  not  have  been  particularly  edifying  to 
the  gray-robed  legions  without,  the  spirit- 
stirring  strains  were  in  no  wise  lost  upon  the 
hearts  of  our  own  boys.  Brave  hearts  became 
braver,  and  if  the  patriotism  of  any  waxed 
cold,  and  the  courage  of  anj  faltered,  they 
here  grew  warmer  and  stronger  until  pride  of 
country  had  touched  the  "will,  and  an  indom 
itable  principle  had  been  kindled  that  virtu 
ally  declared  the  man  a  hero  until  death.  It 
was  with  something  of  this  new-imparted 
energy  that  our  scanty  forces  were  able,  by 
the  use  of  means  still  in  their  possession,  to 
silence  their  op  posers,  and  make  it  convenient 
for  them  to  retreat ;  but  supposing  they  would 
speedily  rally  and  come  down  upon  us  with 


30  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

new  strength  and  ardor,  we  continued  on  the 
watch,  relaxing  not  through  the  whole  night. 
Snatching  a  few  moments  in  the  interval  of 
quiet,  I  ran  over  to  my  tent, — a  place,  strange 
as  it  may  seem,  around  which  some  fond  asso 
ciations  clustered,  and  you,  ye  soldier-reader, 
can  alone  tell  how  sadly  I  felt  when  I  saw 
rude  marks  that  bore  unequivocal  testimony 
that  it  had  been  visited  by  one  of  those  un 
sought  and  unwelcome  bodies — a  shell.  Yes ! 
in  my  absence  it  had  found  both  ingress  and 
egress,  but  as  there  is  never  any  thing  so  dark 
but  what  there  is  light  not  far  offj  either 
behind  or  above  it,  so  I  consoled  myself  with 
the  reflection  that  it  had  its  way  alone,  and  I 
was  not  there  for  its  entertainment. 

Notwithstanding  the  temporary  success,  the 
third  day  after  the  attack  had  things  in  a  bad 
plight  for  us.  The  "rebs"  had  come  into  pos 
session  of  Fort  Wessels,  and  their  iron-clad 
ram,  the  "  Albemarle,"  had  found  its  way  down 
the  river,  passing  our  batteries  without  being 
molested,  sunk  the  "Southfield"  and  driven  off 
the  rest  of  the  navy.  Every  hour  our  pros 
pect  grew  darker  and  our  hopes  weaker,  for 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  31 

the  men  were  completely  exhausted  by  con 
tinual  duty  through  the  day,  and  as  constant 
watching  by  night.  Our  garrison  was  so 
small  that  all  hands  were  required  at  the 
breast-works,  and  even  then,  it  was  altogether 
insufficient  for  the  work.  Intense  were* our 
longings  for  reinforcements,  but  the  threaten 
ing  "Albemarle"  kept  any  from  coming  to  our 
relief,  and  we  began  seriously  to  think  of  a 
march  to  Richmond,  Va.,  and  the  registry  of 
our  names  at  her  famous  Libby  Hotel.  Not 
particularly  inclined  to  take  such  a  journey, 
we  resolved  to  wait  until  there  was  no  further 
hope,  and  at  half  past  one  we  were  furnished 
with  intrenching  tools  and  told  to  work  for  our 
lives  in  building  bombproofs,  traverses,  &c.,  and 
in  a  comparatively  short  time  we  were  sheltered 
from  the  fire  of  the  enemy,  which  was  coming 
into  our  rear  from  their  engine  of  death  upon 
the  river.  Towards  evening,  having  posted  a 
line  of  pickets  and  reserve,  I  went  over  to  my 
tent,  hoping  to  gain  a  moment's  slumber,  but 
the  increased  cannonading  having  by  no 
means  a  soothing  effect,  I  returned  again  to 
the  breast-works,  where  many  a  weary,  way- 


32  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

worn  comrade  was  to  watch  through  the  night, 
although  "tired  nature"  pleadingly  called  for 
some  "siveet  restorer."  Long  before  daybreak 
the  enemy,  under  cover  of  the  cannon's  roar, 
advanced  up  the  Columbia  road  and  with  wild 
cheers  and  yells  charged  upon  the  two  re 
doubts  which  formed  our  protection  upon  the 
east  side  of  the  town.  After  a  short,  but 
bloody  and  decisive  conflict  they  accomplished 
their  object,  and  flushed  with  their  success 
they  came  down  through  the  camp  of  the 
101st  P.  V.,  upon  our  regiment,  evidently 
thinking  there  could  be  no  barrier  to  what 
ever  they  should  attempt  to  do;  but  their 
bravery  was  met  by  a  corresponding  principle 
on  the  part  of  our  boys,  and  they  were  re 
pulsed  with  great  loss  to  them,  yet  a  slight 
advantage  could  do  but  little  for  us  at  this 
time,  for  the  rebels  had  possession  of  Fort 
Wessels,  the  two  redoubts  on  the  Columbia 
road,  and  the  entire  river  side  of  the  village. 
From  this  position  they  were  pouring  a  terri 
ble  fire  into  our  rear.  Six  very  fine  horses  on 
a  caisson  near  me  were  shot  down  in  quick 
succession,  and  many  of  our  men  were  sadly 


LIFE   IN   REBEL    PRISONS.  33 

wounded.  At  this  time  two  or  three  officers 
came  in,  bearing  a  flag  of  truce,  with  a  demand 
from  Gen.  Hoke  for  the  surrender  of  the  town 
and  its  garrison.  After  a  short  consultation 
the  demand  was  refused  by  our  General,  and- 
the  fight  went  on,  though  with  abated  vigor 
on  our  part,  as  we  were  thoroughly  exhausted 
by  our  previous  labors.  The  refusal,  however, 
soon  brought  them  down  in  force  upon  us, 
leaving  no  alternative  but  to  surrender, 
although  it  wras  done  with  no  willing  grace, 
3'et  it  could  but  be  attended  with  the  con 
sciousness  that  we  had  tried  the  virtue  of  re 
sistance  to  tho  utmost. 

THE    CAPTURE. 

We  were  at  once  marched  out  of  town  to 
their  reserve  picket  force,  on  the  Washington 
road,  where  \ve  remained  for  the  night,  being 
allowed  to  retain  our  blankets,  overcoats,  and 
indeed  all  that  we  had  with  us,  excepting,  of 
course,  our  arms  and  equipments.  I  saw  but 
one  instance  of  robbery  at  the  beginning,  and 
that  was  by  an  officer,  evidently  in  a  state  of 
intoxication.  Riding  up  to  one  of  our  boys, 
he  drew  his  sword  and  demanded  his  watch, 


84  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

using  threatening  and  insulting  language,  and 
declaring  he  would  split  open  his  head  if  he 
refused.  Of  course,  there  was  no  way  but  to 
yield. 

•  Here  we  wrote  hasty  letters  to  our  friends, 
which  we  hoped  by  some  good  fortune  to  send 
to  them,  on  the  route,  or  at  least  at  the  end 
of  our  march, — 

For  none  will  e'er  forget  his  friends, 

If  his  heart  be  true  and  tender ; 
Though  adverse  gales  blow  swift  and  long, 

Love's  ties  we'll  still  remember. 

•  On  the  morning  of  the  21st  we  awoke  to 
new    experiences.     Instead   of    the    calls   to 
which  we  had  been  wont  to  listen,  and  the 
labor  we  had  been  accustomed  to  perform,  we 
were  but  passive  beings,  subject  to  the  will  of 
a  conqueror.     In  the  early  part  of  the  day, 
rations  were  issued  to  us  for  four  days,  consist 
ing  of  twenty-five  hard  crackers,  and  about 
two  pounds  of  raw  salt  pork  each.     They  were 
from  the  provisions  taken  with  the  town,  and 
consequently  were  of  good  quality,  although 
we   did  not   particularly  relish    taking    from 
their  hands  what,  a  few  hours  previously  we 
had  counted  our  own,  but  we  remembered  that 


LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISCWS.  35 

prisoners,  like  "beggars,  mus'nt  be  choosers," 
and  that  there  was  no  way  but  to  succumb  as 
cheerfully  as  circumstances  would  allow.  Our 
own  regiment  was  over  four  hundred  strong, 
and  the  whole  number  captured  at  the  surren- 
render,  2,197,  so  that  we  were  quite  a  com 
pany,  doomed  to  the  miseries  of  rebeldom. 

About  noon  we  took  up  our  line  of  march 
for  the  interior  of  Secessia,  and  kept  on  until 
nine  in  the  evening,  making  a  distance  of  sev 
enteen  miles,  having  passed  through  the  vil 
lages  of  Foster's  Mills  and  Jamesville,  both  of 
which  were  visited  by  our  troops  some  time 
before  under  Maj.  Gen.  Foster,  when  he  made 
his  rade  from  Newbern  to  Whitehall  and  Kin- 
ston.  Many  white,  ghost-like  chimneys  were 
still  standing  to  mark  the  former  abodes  of  the 
chivalry.  At  night  our  stopping  place  was  in  a 
corn-field  by  the  road-side  and  our  bed  the 
places  between  the  furrows,  but  lying  on  the 
cold,  bare  ground  was  no  new  experience  for  us, 
for  we  had  often  been  dependent  upon  mother 
earth  for  a  resting  place,  and  the  time  and  cir 
cumstances  had  also  been  when  we  had  been 
more  willing  to  "wrap  the  drapery  of  her  couch" 


36  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

about  us,  and  we  could  have  lain  down  to 
"pleasant  dreams"  Now,  with  wet,  cold  feet, 
gained  by  fording  many  a  creek  through  the 
day,  our  situation  was  not  very  enviable,  and 
it  is  not  strange  if  visions  of  downy  beds  came 
floating  over  the  minds  of  some  on  that  event 
ful  night. 

The  35th  N.  C.  constituted  our  guard,  and 
we  can  say  of  them  what  can  not  be  said  of  all 
the  Southern  troops,  that  they  were  a  gentle 
manly  set  of  fellows,  and  treated  the  Northern 
isoldier  with  some  consideration.  To  have 
seen  us  through  the  day  one  would  have  sup 
posed  that  we  were  the  captors  and  they  the 
prisoners,  for  as  we  were  "marching  along" 
we  sung  that  song  which  usually  falls  with 
such  strange  significance  on  the  ears  of  sensa- 
tive  Southerners — 

*'  John  Brown's  body  lies  mouldering  in  the  grave,"  &c., 

Crowds  of  women  and  children  lined  the 
roadside,  apparently  eager  to  get  even  a  glimpse 
of  the  <•  Yankees,"  of  whom  they  had  heard 
'such  fearful  things,  but  we  marked  what 
seemed  to  us  a  look  of  surprise,  as  they  sur 
veyed  what  was  unquestionably  a  set  of  de 
cent,  respectable  looking  fellows. 


LIFE   IN  REBEL   PRISONS,  37 

The  next  clay  we  marched,  with  very  little 
rest,  until  half  past  one,  when  we  arrived  at 
Williamston,  N.  C.  Here  we  were  conducted 
to  a  large  pine  grove  by  the  road-side,  and 
allowed  to  rest  quite  a  little  time.  As  before, 
a  large  concourse  of  women  and  children 
gathered  to  witness  the  strange  sight,  and  in 
view  of  it  find  myself  recording  a  paragraph 
like  this — "Wonder  what  they  think  of  us! 
I  don't  care  what  the  ugly  looking  ones  think, 
especially  those  who  chew  snuff,  but  I  do  hope 
the  good  looking  ones  don't  hate  us." 

The  village  post-master  came  about  among 
us,  promising  to  mail  letters  for  us,  so  we  soon 
loaded  him  clown  with  short  letters,  containing 
tidings  of  our  fate  to  the  dear  ones  at  home, 
which  we  ardently  hoped  might  reach  them 
to  relieve  them  of  anxiety,  or,  at  least,  of  sus 
pense,  and  dispel  the  uncertainty  which  would 
otherwise  exist  to  torture  them. 

After  our  short  but  grateful  rest,  we  started 
again,  marching  until  sunset,  when  we  halted 
and  went  into  camp  in  a  grass  field,  and  as  we 
filed  in,  each  man  helped  himself  to  a  rail,  so 
that  the  entire  fence  was  soon  appropriated 


38  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

as  fuel  for  our  evening  fires.  Our  guards 
made  no  objection  to  it,  but  on  the  whole 
seemed  to  think  it  quite  a  good  joke  on  our 
part.  Water  was  plenty  by  the  road-side,  and 
after  making  some  "crust  coffee"  and  eating 
some  hard-tack  and  raw  pork,  we  spread  our 
blankets  upon  the  ground  and  slept  peacefully 
and  well,  fearing  no  very  ill  treatment  from 
men  who  had  showed  so  much  consideration 
as  to  pitch  a  tent  for  the  accommodation 
of  one  poor  sick  sufferer.  After  this  night, 
our  early  morning  ablutions  were  performed 
at  a  little  brook,  this  followed  by  a  scanty 
breakfast,  and  we  fell  in  with  the  already  mov 
ing  column,  feeling  in  excellent  condition, 
physically,  at  least.  At  nine  o'clock  we 
reached  Hamilton,  and  were  introduced  into 
the  yard  of  a  man  who  had  once  taken  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  Uncle  Sam,  but  who  was 
now  very  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  bake 
poor  corn-bread,  or  "pone,"  as  the  southerners 
say,  and  sell  it  to  us  for  $5.00  a  loaf.  At  this 
place  we  bade  adieu  to  our  N.  C.  guards,  with 
some  regret,  for  they  had  treated  us  well,  and 
we  had  yet  to  learn  the  spirit  of  those  who 
were  to  take  their  places. 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  39 

Nevertheless,  our  little  squad  of  Co.  A  boys 
was  bound  to  make  the  best  of  it,  and  select 
ing  a  pleasant  spot,  we  put  our  things  upon 
the  ground  in  the  order  in  which  we  expected 
to  sleep,  and  then  resorted  to  various  expedi 
ents  for  amusement.  There  was  "right  smart 
of  trading"  went  on  between  our  boys  and 
the  Johnnies,  some  of  the  trades  causing  con 
siderable  merriment. 

The  24th  was  the  Sabbath,  and  what  strange 
vicissitudes  one  short  week  had  wrought  for 
us.  In  not  many  things  could  we  say  it  was 
a  blessed  contrast.  Then  we  were  free,  now 
we  were  prisoners  ; — then  we  had  plenty  of 
food  and  comfortable  shelter,  now  we  had 
neither,  or  at  least  but  little  to  satisfy  our 

hunger.  My  friend,  Sam  B ,  and  myself, 

managed  to  make  out  what  we  called  a  break 
fast,  with  the  few  scraps  that  we  had  left  of 
our  four  days'  rations,  but  the  change  was  per 
haps  quite  as  keenly  felt  in  the  blighting  of 
hopes  as  in  anything.  Plymouth  was  lost. 
We  had  hoped  to  save  it  for  the  Union  side, 
but  it  was  gone,  and  mourning  was  useless. 
It  only  remained  for  us  to  travel  on  until  our 


40  LIFE   IN   REBEL    PRISONS. 

foes  were  satisfied.  Not  even  the  hours  of 
holy  time  could  be  our  own,  but  on,  and  still 
on,  was  the  watchword.  During  the  forepart 
of  the  day  the  people  of  the  surrounding 
country  gathered  about  us,  it  being  their  day 
for  visiting  and  recreation.  About  noon  we 
were  to  start  for  Tarboro,  a  distance  of  twenty- 
two  miles,  but  a  little  before  the  time  came 
some  of  the  officers  and  men  formed  a  group 
and  sang  "Home,  sweet  home/'  "Sweet  hour 
of  Prayer,"  and  many  other  beautiful  hymns, 
richly  suggestive  of  homes  on  earth,  and 
home  in  heaven.  Our  captors  evidently 
thought  it  a  strange  and  novel  scene. 

After  forming  our  line  in  the  road,  ready 
for  marching,  the  ranks  were  searched  for  de 
serters  from  the  rebel  army,  a  number  of 
whom  were  detected  and  taken  away.  They 
had  entered  our  service  a  long  time  before  and 
were  captured  with  us.  We  never  knew  their 
fate,  but  suppose  them  to  have  been  shot. 
After  this  inspection  we  pursued  the  way  our 
guards  were  treading,  making  twelve  miles 
before  nightfall,  in  season  to  seek  the  hospi 
tality  of  pine  woods  near  by.  It  rained  some, 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  41 

but  making  a  sort  of  tent  of  our  blankets,  we 
concluded  to  let  heaven  and  earth  take  care 
of  us  as  best  they  could. 

An  easy  march  of  ten  miles  brought  us,  on 
the  morrow's  noon,  to  the  place  of  our  imme 
diate  destination.  The  camp  assigned  us  here 
was  by  a  river-side,  near  the  bridge.  We 
were  counted  as  we  proceeded  to  pass  through 
an  immense  crowd,  of  both  sexes  and  all 
classes,  who  seemed  to  have  congregated  for 
no  other  purpose  but  to  examine  and  criticise 
us,  poor  unfortunates. 

Our  boys  were  nearly  starved,  and  before 
rations  could  be  procured  they  bartered  away 
clothing,  gold  rings  and  pens,  in  short,  what 
ever  they  had,  for  a  bit  of  something  to  eat. 
Five  dollars  in  Confederate  money  would  buy 
a  piece  of  corn  bread,  baked  with  little  or  no 
salt,  of  the  size  of  a  man's  hand,  and  for  a 
small  piece  of  pie  I  gave  the  last  "greenback'* 
dollar  I  had  in  the  world.  The  citizens  were 
perfect  extortioners  and  robbers,  but  most  of 
them  so  ignorant  they  could  easily  be  in> 
imposed  upon,  and  in  consequence,  our  boys 
played  some  very  sharp  tricks  upon  them. 


42  LIFE  IN   KEBEL   PRISONS. 

Sometime  before  the  -capture  of  Plymouth, 
our  forces  made  a  raid  into  Elizabeth  City, 
and  some  of  the  men  breaking  into  the  Far 
mers'  Bank  at  that  place,  appropriated  to 
themselves  a  large  number  of  unsigned  certifi 
cates  of  deposit.  These  were  made  to  serve 
us  a  good  turn  in  our  extremity.  They  were 
now  filled  out  with  any  names  that  came  con 
venient,  and  passed  with  the  greatest  readi 
ness  as  good,  sound  money. 

One  man  had  a  watch  chain,  made  of  brass, 
made  in  imitation  of  Uncle  Sam's  gold  dollars, 
linked  together,  and  after  a  brightening  pro 
cess,  to  make  it  resemble  as  nearly  as  possible 
the  valuable  coin,  it  brought  in  the  fortunate 
possessor  a  small  fortune  in  Confederate 
money. 

The  distribution  of  rations  soon  claimed 
our  attention  to  the  exclusion  of  everything 
else,  as  the  "inner  man"  was  sadly  in  need  of 
refreshment. 

These  consisted  of  a  cup  of  meal,  the  same 
quantity  of  black  peas,  and  a  small  piece  of 
bacon  for  each  man.  Kettles  and  wood  were 
supplied  to  us,  and  making  lively  use  of  these, 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  43 

we  soon  had  something  to  eat  once  more,  after 
which  we  retired  to  rest  as  happy  as  men 
could  be  in  such  a  condition. 

'-True  happiness"  says  Addison,  "is  of  a 
retired  nature,"  and  so  far  we  might  have  real 
ized  the  idea  of  the  man  of  letters,  but  we 
felt  not  quite  like  saying  "  Celestial  happiness," 
for  many  felt  their  repose  would  be  slightly 
more  " divine"  could  they  pillow  their  heads 
upon  other  than  Confederate  soil. 

Two-thirds  of  the  prisoners  were  sent  to 
Goldsborough,  N.  C.,  the  next  day,  on  their 
way,  as  it  was  said,  to  Charleston.  Each  man's 
name,  rank  and  regiment,  was  taken  as  he 
filed  out  of  the  guarded  enclosure,  consequently 
they  made  slow  progress  in  the  work,  and  our 
regiment,  from  its  position,  could  not  come  in 
with  those  who  were  to  leave  that  day.  Em 
ployment  diverts  the  mind,  so  we  betook  our 
selves  to  the  cooking  of  our  rations,  which 
were  more  justly  distributed  than  on  the  day 
before,  and  also  to  make  preparation,  as  best 
we  could,  for  the  satisfaction  of  hunger  while 
on  the  journey  we  supposed  would  be  taken 
on  the  morrow. 


44  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

How  far  back  in  the  past  then  seemed  our 
day  of  New  England  comforts,  but  the  present 
claimed  our  energies,  and   we   thought   our 
selves   in  a   fair  way   to   become   somewhat 
skilled  in  the  art  of  making  corn-dodgers,  espe 
cially  if  we  should  abide  long  in  Southern  soci 
ety.     Trading  was  brisk  as  ever  through  that 
day,  although  at  one  time   the   Confederate 
soldiers  were  forbidden  by  their  officers  from 
taking  any  more  "  greenbacks,"  as  there  was  a 
law  making  it  a  crime  for  a  Southerner  to  pos 
sess  or  attempt  to  pass  them;  but  in  spite  of 
the  order  they  were  still  glad  to   take  them 
when  they  could  do  it  without  fear  of  detec 
tion.     We  were  told  by  the  men  in  authority 
that  we  would  probably  leave  at  noon,  but 
noon  came,  and  the  shades  of  evening  gathered 
about  us  also,  without  any  signs  of  leaving,  so 
that  there  remained  nothing   for   us  but  to 
compose   ourselves   to   the    idea   of   staying 
another  night  upon  our   miserable    camping 
ground.     To  add  to  our  discomfort,  the  I) aeon 
dispensed  was  not  of  the  sweetest  variety,  but 
we  were  prisoners,  and  must  not  be  expected 
to  grumble  at  any   bad    treatment,  but   we 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  45 

knew  memory  would  be  faithful  to  her  trust 
in  its  remembrance,  and  the  feeling  of  retalia 
tion  excited,  we  felt  quite  sure  would  find  ex 
pression  if  any  future  time  allowed  the  oppor 
tunity.  During  the  day  saw  a  copy  of  the 
Richmond  Examiner,  giving  an  account  of  our 
capture  and  the  taking  of  the  town,  in  a  man 
ner  not  very  flattering  to  us,  but  the  sadness 
occasioned  was  somewhat  overborne  by  the 
intelligence  almost  simultaneously  received, 
that  the  rebels  had  been  foiled  in  their  attack 
upon  Newbern,  and  their  iron-clad  ram  "  the 
Neuse,"  blown  up. 

The  indolence  and  monotony  which  charac 
terized  these  days  was  unpleasant  in  the  ex 
treme.  Sometimes  we  found  little  variety  in 
spicy  debates  with  rebel  officers,  upon  the  war 
and  slavery.  They  seemed  to  be  very  fond 
of  arguing  with  us,  although  our  boys  almost 
invariably  got  the  better  of  them. 

For  a  little  time  small  squads  were  allowed 
to  go  out  for  wood,  under  guard,  and  I  was 
fortunate  enough  to  belong  to  one  of  these 
parties,  and  right  glad  was  I  to  get  away  from 
our  filthy  surroundings,  and  breathe  the  pure, 


46  LIFE   IN   REBEL  PRISONS. 

fresh  air  of  heaven,  as  it  swept  through  the 
woods.  Its  influence  was  really  exhilarating 
to  spirit  as  well  as  body.  Coupled  with  this 
was  the  information  that  we  mi^ht  he  ex- 

o 

changed  in  a  few  days,  and  altogether  hope 
became  quite  buoyant.  Some  cars  appeared 
in  our  vicinity,  and  it  began  to  look  a  little 
like  departure.  The  possibility  of  its  truth 
was  inspiriting,  although  we  knew  not  what 
change  would  bring  to  us,  but  of  one  thing 
we  were  certain,  that  a  prisoner's  life  in  the 
South  had  more  of  unpleasant  reality  than 
romance.  That  night  it  was  very  cold,  and 
with  but  one  blanket  between  two,  it  was  im 
possible  to  keep  comfortably  w^arm,  but  hearts 
were  animated  by  the  thought  of  our 

DEPARTURE  FROM  TARBORO. 

About  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  it  now 
being  the  29th,  the  welcome  order  came,  "yet 
ready  to  leave"  but,  as  usual,  our  regiment  was 
the  last  to  be  on  the  way.  The  street  through 
which  we  passed  on  our  march  to  the  depot 
was  very  beautiful,  and  we  all  agreed  it  was 
the  prettiest  place  we  had  seen  in  the  South. 
It  is  the  county  seat  of  Edgeconib  County, 


LIFE    IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  47 

situated  upon  the  banks  of  the  Tar  river,  and 
must  have  been  a  place  of  some  importance 
before  the  war.  It  is  in  railroad  connection 
with  the  South  by  a  short  branch  road  which 
strikes  the  Weldon  road  at  a  little  place  called 
Rocky  Mount. 

The  train  left  at  10  o'clock,  and  we  had 
a  fair  ride  until  night,  when  we  became  so 
weary  we  longed  for  a  little  sleep ; — to  lose 
ourselves  in  grateful  unconsciousness  for  a 
little  while,  but  we  found  there  was  not  room 
for  us  all  even  to  sit  down,  much  less  to  place 
our  bodies  in  such  a  position  as  to  experience 
anything  like  rest,  for  there  were  forty-seven 
prisoners  and  five  or  six  guards  crowded  into 
a  box  car,  and  a  small  one  at  that.  Soon  after 
dark  the  doors  were  shut  by  order  of  the 
officer  of  the  guard, — Capt.  Johnson,  of  the 
28th  Georgia,  and  we  passed  a  most  miserable 
night,  nearly  smothered,  and  pressed  almost 
out  of  all  shape. 

We  passed  Pikeville,  and  some  other  places 
of  little  note,  on  the  way  to  Goldsborough. 
Here  we  stopped  some  time,  and  drew  rations 
for  the  next  twenty-four  hours,  receiving  three 


48  LIFE   IN    REBEL   PftlSOXS. 

small  hard  crackers  and  a  little  scrap  of  bacon 
to  subsist  on  for  that  time.  It  was  very 
evident  our  enemies  did  not  intend  we 
should  suffer  from  being  over  fed. 

At  midnight  we  reached  Wilmington,  where 
the  guard  availed  themselves  of  the  opportu 
nity  to  do  something  for  their  own  comfort. 
They  alighted,  kindled  fires,  and  had  a  good 
time  all  to  themselves,  while  we,  poor  crea 
tures,  were  obliged  to  stay  in  our  v/retched 
car  until  morning.  Soon  after  sunrise  we 
were  ordered  from  our  miserable  confinement 
and  inarched  down  to  the  dock,  where  a  ferry 
boat  was  in  waiting  to  convey  us  to  the  oppo 
site  side.  We  landed  on  a  large  lumber  dock, 
where  we  made  a  stay  of  several  hours,  during 
which  time  we  received  our  allowance  for 
twenty-four  hours  more  ;  this  time  obtaining 
a  small  loaf  of  sour  wheat  bread,  no  larger 
than  a  man's  fist,  and  some  bacon  that  smelled 
so  badly  that,  hungry  as  we  were,  we  left  it 
upon  the  ground  untouched.  "Is  there  any 
excuse  for  this  treatment  here  under  the  very 
shadow  of  one  of  the  wealthiest  cities  of  the 
South  ?"  was  the  question  we  asked  ourselves, 


LIFE  IN  REBEL   PRISONS.  49 

and  the  reply  dictated  by  reason  was,  "  there 
can  not  be ;  it  is  equally  inexcusable  and  in 
human.'* 

Three  large  blockade  runners  were  lying 
at  the  docks  on  the  Wilmington  side;  very 
sharp,  rakish  looking  steamers,  painted  gray 
ish  white,  in  order  not  to  be  seen  at  a  distance 
when  at  sea.  While  gazing  at  them  we  sud 
denly  heard  heavy  and  rapid  firing  in  the  dis 
tance,  the  intent  of  which  was  soon  ascer 
tained  in  the  return  of  a  handsome  steamer 
with  the  Confederate  flag  floating  in  the 
breeze,  it  having  been  repulsed  in  an  attempt 
to  run  out  at  the  mouth  of  the  river. 

A ,  short  time  before  our  arrival  the  place 
had  suffered  from  an  immense  fire.  Remains 
of  buildings  and  docks  were  still  smoking  and 
burning.  One  of  the  prisoners  who  went 
through  in  advance  of  us,  placed  a  lighted 
pipe  in  a  bale  of  cotton,  and  before  it  was 
discovered  the  fire  had  made  too  much  pro 
gress  to  be  easily  arrested.  The  loss  was  esti 
mated  to  have  been  about  six  millions  of  dol 
lars,  one  million  of  which  belonged  to  the  Con 
federate  government. 


50  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

Our  companionship  with  lumber  was  broken 
by  orders  to  embark  for  Charleston.  Our 
Asthmatic  locomotive  had  a  great  time  in 
climbing  a  steep  grade  near  the  city,  but  after 
an  untold  amount  of  whistling  and  screaming 
it  succeeded  in  pulling  us  up  and  sending  us 
away  on  our  journey.  We  passed  several 
trains  loaded  with  troops,  either  on  their  way 
to  Lee's  army  or  to  Newbern. 


CHAPTER    II. 

ARRIVAL    IN    CHARLESTON. 

The  first  of  May  in  the  land  of  our  birth  is 
generally  considered,  especially  by  the  young, 
as  a  day  to  be  honored  above  many  others,  as 
it  is  the  harbinger  of  glad  summer  days  to 
come,  but  all  former  customs  with  us  seemed 
to  have  been  reversed,  and  the  great  question 
on  its  anniversary  under  a  Southern  sky,  was, 
how  to  make  even  existence  itself,  not  com 
fortable,  but  simply  tolerable. 


LIFE   IN  REBEL   PRISONS.  51 

In  the  forenoon  of  the  day  we  were  trans 
ferred  to  another  train,  and  another  guard  of 
Georgia  troops  placed  over  us.  We  were  put 
upon  platform  cars,  a  position  in  which  to 
enjoy  fresh  air,  besides  afording  an  oppor 
tunity  to  take  a  comprehensive  survey  of 
the  scenery  as  we  passed  along.  As  we 
entered  the  city,  it  was  very  fine.  Handsome 
live  oak  trees  lifted  their  venerable  heads, 
fringed  with  gray  moss ;  flowers  with  varied 
hue  were  in  full  blossom,  and  princely  resi 
dences  were  scattered  here  and  there,  giving 
an  air  of  pleasantness  to  the  whole,  and  but 
for  the  peculiar  associations  connected  with 
the  circumstance  of  our  being  there  just  then, 
we  might  have  enjoyed  a  stroll  about  some  of 
the  inviting  paths.  In  some  of  the  gardens 
they  were  picking  green  peas,  while  at  home 
we  supposed  them  scarcely  planted.  It  was 
the  Sabbath,  and  great  crowds  of  people 
thronged  the  street  corners  to  stare  at  the 
"Plymouth  Pilgrims,"  as  the  city  papers  sar 
castically  called  us.  Among  them  were  many 
Union  people  whose  unmistakable  expressions 
of  sympathy  did  us  much  good,  for  we  had 
3 


52  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

expected  nothing  but  taunts  and  insults,  espe 
cially  in  this  " hot-bed  of  secession'' 

One  aged  lady  watched  for  an  opportunity, 
and  in  a  moment  when  the  guard  had  their 
attention  diverted  in  another  direction,  she 
came  up  to  the  side  of  the  cars  and  gave  us 
something  to  eat,  at  the  same  time  commisera 
ting  our  situation.  Nowhere  else  in  the  Con 
federacy  had  wre  experienced  anything  like 
this,  and  probably  its  repetition  would  seldom, 
if  ever,  occur  again.  We  left  this  city,  having 
Savannah,  in  Georgia,  for  our  next  destina 
tion,  and  while  crossing  the  railroad  bridge  wre 
had  a  glimpse  of  Fort  Sumter  in  the  distance. 
It  was  intensely  tantalizing  to  our  spirits  to 
be  so  near  our  forces,  and  yet  prisoners  and 
helpless.  Our  ride,  notwithstanding,  we 
acknowledged  to  be  splendid,  and  we  made 
quite  good  time,  but  just  before  the  end  of 
our  route,  we  were  overtaken  by  a  rain  storm 
which  proved  slightly  inconvenient  in  our 
unsheltered  condition. 

At  Savannah  we  changed  cars  for  Ander^ 
sonville,  which  place  was  to  be  our  theatre  of 
action  for  an  indefinite  time.  But  thirty-five 


LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  53 

were  put  into  a  car  this  time,  thus  giving  us 
room  for  the  requisite  expansion  for  comfort 
and  a  space  in  which  to  rest,  which  we  gladly 
improved.  We  traveled  one  hundred  miles 
that  night  upon  the  Georgia  Central  road. 
It  is  built  upon  strong  pieces  of  timber,  kept 
in  very  good  repair,  and  apparently  in  excel 
lent  condition.  Painted  signs  by  the  road 
side  informed  us  that  the  track  wras  of  Ameri 
can  rails  on  one  side,  and  English  upon  the 
other ;  it  being  done  as  a  sort  of  test  of  the 
superiority  of  one  over  the  other.  They 
were  laid  in  1857. 

At  station  No.  13  the  train  stopped  quite  a 
long  while,  and  we  were  allowed  to  wash  in 
a  brook  near  by ;  to  receive  very  good  rations 
— so  good,  that  we  thought  we  should  be 
fortunate  if  we  could  have  those  equally  fair 
in  our  place  of  imprisonment.  The  country 
in  this  vicinity  was  very  pleasant,  much  finer 
than  anything  we  had  yet  seen  in  our  "pil 
grimage" 

At  4,  P.  M.  we  arrived  at  Macon,  a  beautiful 
city,  built  upon  high  ground,  and  in  general 
appearance  much  resembling  Hartford,  Ct.  We 


54  LIFE   IN  REBEL   PRISONS. 

had  a  very  good  view  of  it  as  we  approached 
it  upon  the  cars,  and  had  some  sport  in  pointr 
ing  out  the  Pearl  Street  Church,  Touro  Hall, 
&c.  Ah !  if  in  reality  we  could  see  the  church 
spires  of  this  New  England  city  again,  how 
happy  we  should  be,  was  the  thought  that 
very  naturally  came  into  our  minds,  and  if  we 
had  indulged  in  gloomy  forebodings  there 
would  also  have  been  the  sad  conviction  that 
many  a  comrade  would  doubtless  close  his 
eyes  upon  all  that  was  earthly,  ere  we  should 
turn  our  feet  again  to  the  land  from  whence 
we  came. 

We  stopped  two  hours  at  Macon,  and  surely 
"ignorance  is  bliss"  for  had  we  known  the 
fearful  sights  that  were  shortly  to  meet  our 
gaze,  reluctance  to  proceed  would  have  been 
doubly  sure.  The  rebel  officers  gave  us 
favorable  descriptions  of  the  location  of  the 
prison ;  speaking  of  it  as  being  situated  in  a 
healthy  part  of  the  country,  with  a  fine  stream 
of  water  running  through  it,  and  as  to  food, 
assuring  us  that  we  would  fare  well  on  account 
of  the  richness  of  the  State,  it  not  being 
impoverished  like  many  parts  of  the  South. 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  55 

At  nine  o'clock  we  were  able  to  chronicle 
our 

ARRIVAL  AT  ANDERSONVILLE, 

or  rather  at  the  station,  for  there  is  no  village, 
and  the  prison  is  nearly  a  mile  out  from  this. 
This  place,  so  notorious  in  the  history  of  the 
war,  is  situated  in  Sumter  Co.,  about  sixty-five 
miles  southwest  from  Macon,  and  fifty  from 
the  Alabama  State  line.  We  were  counted  as 
we  left  the  cars,  and  then  marched  a  short  dis 
tance  from  the  depot,  where  we  remained  all 
night,  surrounded  by  a  line  of  fires  and  a 
heavy  guard.  Here  we  heard  terrible  stories  ^ 
of  small-pox  being  prevalent  in  the  prison, 
and  also  about  the  "dead  line"  which  was 
death  to  any  one  who  should  step  over  it,  but 
even  then  we  thought  they  might  be  trying 
to  frighten  us. 

We  were  aroused  from  our   slumbers    the 
next  morning  at  an  early  hour,  and  called  to  sub 
mit  to  the  orders  of  a  bustling  officer,  dressed 
in  Captain's  uniform,  who  did  his  work  with  a  >. 
great  deal  of  swearing  and  threatening,  divi-  \J 
ding  us  into  messes  of  ninety  men  each,  each 
mess  to  be  in  charge  of  a  sergeant,  who  should 


56  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

call  the  roll  every  morning,  draw  the  rations, 
and  receive  an  extra  one  himself  for  his 
trouble.  Three  "nineties"  constituted  a  de 
tachment,  which  was  also  in  charge  of  a  ser 
geant.  Thus  classed,  and  our  names  taken, 
we  were  marched  off  to  the  prison.  As  we 
came  near  it,  we  found  it  to  consist  of  twelve 
or  fifteen  acres  of  ground,  enclosed  by  a  high 
stockade  of  hewed  pine  logs,  closely  guarded 
by  numerous  sentinels,  who  stood  in  elevated 
boxes  overlooking  the  camp. 

As  we  entered  the  place  a  spectacle  met 
our  eyes  that  almost  froze  our  blood  with 
horror,  and  made  our "  hearts  fail  within  us. 
Before  us  were  forms  that  had  once  been  active 
and  erect; — stalwart  men.,  now  nothing  but 
mere  walking  skeletons,  covered  with  filth  and 
vermin.  Many  of  our  men,  in  the  heat  and 
intensity  of  their  feeling,  exclaimed  with 
earnestness,  "  Can  this  be  hell  ?"  "  God  protect 
us  !"  and  all  thought  that  He  alone  could  bring 
them  out  alive  from  so  terrible  a  place.  In 
the  center  of  the  whole  was  a  swamp,  occupy 
ing  about  three  or  four  acres  of  the  narrowed 
limits,  and  a  part  of  this  marshy  place  had 


STOCKADE. 


1ST 


15, 


2 


10 


12 


E 


11 
S 


13 


1.*  STOCKADE. 


. 

"DEAD  LINE." 
BROOK. 
SWAMP. 
REBEL  SOTTLERS. 


.       EBEL      TT. 
6.    BAKE-HOUSE  FOR  CORN-BREAD. 

B100!" 


EXPLANATION. 

10  &  11-    OUTER  STOCKADES. 

12.  EARTHWORK  FORTIFICATIONS. 

13.  LOCATION  OF  HOSPITAL. 

14.  PL\CE  WHERE   THE  SURGEONS   PRE* 

SCRIBED  FOR  THE  SICK  AND  ADMIT 
TED  TO  THE  HOSPITAL. 


58  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

been  used  by  the  prisoners  as  a  sink,  and 
excrement  covered  the  ground,  the  scent  aris 
ing  from  which  was  suffocating.  The  ground 
allotted  to  our  ninety  was  near  the  edge 
of  this  plague-spot,  and  how  we  were  to  live 
through  the  warm  summer  weather  in  the 
midst  of  such  fearful  surroundings,  was  more 
than  we  cared  to  think  of  just  then. 

Along  the  edge  of  the  swamp,  from  one 
side  of  the  camp  to  the  other,  ran  a  little  shal 
low  brook,  three  or  four  feet  wide,  and  this, 
with  a  few  small  springs,  were  to  furnish  our 
water  for  the  season.  Whatever  we  may  have 
thought  of  the  dangers  of  the  past;  of  the 
uncertainties  which  encircled  us  prior  to  our 
captivity,  when  we  were  exposed  to  the 
assaults  of  the  enemy,  we  now  felt  that  almost 
infinitely  better  would,  it  be,  to 

"  Dwell  in  the  midst  of  alarms, 
Than  reign  in  such  a  horrible  place. ' 

No  shelter  was  provided  for  us  by  the  rebel 
authorities,  and  we  therefore  went  to  work  to 
provide  for  ourselves.  Eleven  of  us  combined 
to  form  a  "family"  For  the  small  sum  of 
two  dollars  in  greenbacks  we  purchased  eight 


LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  59 

small  saplings  about  eight  or  nine  feet  long ; 
these  we  bent  and  made  fast  in  the  ground, 
and  covering  them  with  our  blankets,  made  a 
tent  with  an  oval  roof,  about  thirteen  feet 
long.  We  needed  the  blankets  for  our  pro 
tection  from  the  cold  at  night,  but  of  the  two, 
we  concluded  it  to  be  quite  as  essential  to  our 
comfort  to  shut  out  the  rain.  In  the  after 
noon  we  drew  rations,  each  man  getting  a 
pint  and  a  half  of  coarse  corn  meal,  about  two 
ounces  of  bacon,  a  little  salt,  and  also  a  little 
soap.  We  baked  a  cake  of  the  meal  for  our 
supper,  and  being  very  weary  we  laid  our 
selves  down  upon  the  cold  ground  to  sleep. 
It  was  very  cold,  and  our  hard  couch,  without 
any  covering  to  wrap  about  us,  made  it  com 
fortless  indeed. 

There  were  ten  deaths  on  our  side  of  the 
camp  that  night.  The  old  prisoners  called  it 
"  being  exchanged"  and  truly  it  was  a  blessed 
transformation  to  those  who  went  from  such  a 
miserable  existence  on  earth,  to  a  glorious  one 
above.  We  could  not  weep  for  such,  but  only 
rejoice  that  their  cares  and  toils  were  ended. 


60  LIFE   IN    REBEL    PRISONS. 

We  could  not  wonder  that  they  should  feel 
in  their  last  hours  that — 

"It  is  not  death  to  die — 

To  leave  this  weary  road, 
And,  'mid  the  brotherhood  on  high, 

To  be  at  home  with  God. 

It  is  not  death  to  close 

The  eye  long  dimmed  by  tears, 
And  wake,  in  glorious  repose, 

To  spend  eternal  years. 

It  is  not  death  to  bear 

The  wrench  that  sets  us  free 
From  dungeon  chain,  to  breathe  the  air 

Of  boundless  liberty." 

Faith  alone  could  rise  above  the  feelings 
which  shrink  from  death  and  burial  in  such  a 
place,  and  in  such  circumstances,  but  faith 
opens  wide  the  "golden  gates"  of  the  Celestial 
City,  and  through  them  the  redeemed  soul 
may  pass  to  the  abodes  of  purity,  itself  bright 
and  shining,  whatever  might  have  been  the 
condition  of  its  clayey  tenement  below.  A 
decent  grave  and  a  friendly  burial  would  be  a 
great  mercy,  but  careless  hands  and  unfeeling 
hearts  hasten  the  soldier  to  his  last  home;  but 
their  dust  shall  not  escape  the  Father's  care, 
and  future  re-animation  shall  testify  to  the 
power  and  constancy  of  the  heavenly  Watcher. 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  61 

After  being  there  a  short  time,  the  balance 
of  the  Plymouth  pilgrims  came  in,  including 
the  remainder  of  our  regiment.  We  were  in 
better  spirits  than  the  day  before,  having  had 
time  to  accustom  ourselves  to  things  a  little, 
so  that  when  they  filed  in  through  the  misery, 
we  even  laughed  at  their  disconsolate  looking 
faces,  forgetting  we,  too,  looked  equally  dole 
ful  on  the  preceding  day. 

What  can  not  soldiers  make  up  their  minds 
to  endure  ?  We  found  upon  inquiry,  the  name 
of  the  prison  was  Camp  Sumter,  and  that  ten 
thousand  prisoners  were  then  confined  within 
Tls  boundaries.  We  were  particularly  cau 
tioned  by  those  who  had  been  there  some 
time,  to  beware  of  the  "dead  line"  about 
which  we  had  heard  upon  the  night  of  our 
arrival,  and  then  believed  to  be  untrue.  We 
found  it  to  be  no  fiction,  however.  All  around 
the  inside  of  the  stockade,  and  about  a  rod 
distant  from  it,  was  a  slender  railing,  and  the 
least  trespass  over  or  under  this,  whether 
ignorantly  done  or  not,  met  with  instant  death 
from  the  vigilant  sentinel  who  was  eager  for 
an  opportunity  to  shoot  one  of  the  "damned 
Yankees:' 


62  LIFE  IN  REBEL   PRISONS. 

About  this  time  Maj.  Gen.  Ilowell  Cobb, 
commander  of  the  Georgia  State  militia,  made 
us  a  visit  of  inspection,  and  the  ladies  in  the 
vicinity  gave  a  pic-nic  to  the  rebel  soldiers  in 
honor  of  the  occasion.  What  his  august 
presence  would  have  to  do  with  our  welfare 
was  a  matter  of  conjecture.  We  heard  float 
ing  rumors  of  an  exchange  of  prisoners,  but 
dared  not  hope  for  their  truth.  There  were 
men  who  had  been  prisoners  through  the 
previous  winter,  upon  Belle  Island,  in  the 
Danville  prisons,  and  other  places,  ragged, 
some  of  them  nearly  naked,  worn  down  by 
long  suffering  to  mere  skeletons ;  who  ought 
to  be  exchanged,  if  only  for  humanity's  sake. 
"Why  does'nt  the  government  do  it-?"  we 
asked,  but  we  could  not  answer. 

A  PLAN  FOR  ESCAPE 

was  natural  enough  for  men  in  such  condi 
tion.  On  the  night  of  the  fifth  some  of  them 
"tunnelled  out"  hoping  to  be  so  fortunate  as  to 
pass  once  and  forever  from  such  fearful  bond 
age,  but  the  blood  hounds  were  soon  put  upon 
their  track,  the  usual  method  of  our  chivalrous 
enemies  in  finding  and  re-capturing  runaways. 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  65 

Their  yelping  could  be  plainly  heard  in  camp, 
a  sound  fitted  to  intensify  our  sympathy  for 
the  poor  objects  of  their  search.  In  conse 
quence  of  the  absence  of  these  prisoners  the 
rest  of  the  camp  were  kept  in  ranks  for  a  long 
while  after  roll-call ;  probably  while  the  rebel 
officers  were  seeking  to  acquaint  themselves 
with  the  manner  in  which  they  had  made 
their  escape,  and  who  they  were. 

I  had  always  supposed  it  to  be  the  privilege 
of  a  prisoner  of  war  to  make  his  escape  if  he 
could,  but  there  it  was  considered  a  crime, 
and  a  man  was  tracked  like  a  felon  or  an  out 
law  who  should  dare  make  the  attempt. 
Talk  no  longer  about  "mudsills"  and  "greasy 
mechanics  /" — public  opinion  at  the  North 
wTould  not  tolerate  the  barbarity  which  finds 
ready  applause  at  the  South.  Either  the  race 
of  F.  F.  Y.'s  must  have  become  sadly  degen 
erated,  or  they  were  always  inferior  to  the 
people  of  the  North. 

To  insure  correctness  in  the  roll-call,  the 
guards  of  the  stockade  were  instructed  to  fire 
upon  any  men  who  should  attempt  to  cross 
the  brook  from  one  side  of  the  prison  to  the 


60  LIFE   IN    REBEL  PRISONS. 

other.  Thinking  it  would  be  no  violation  of 
orders  to  step  to  the  side  of  the  brook,  to 
wash  my  hands,  I  did  so,  when  snap  w^ent  the 
cap  on  the  gun  of  one  of  the  guard  near  me. 
On  looking  up  I  found  he  had  intended  to 
shoot  me,  but  his  gun  had  missed  fire — 
thanks  to  a  good  providence.  Thinking  "dis 
cretion  the  better  part  of  valor/'  I  hastily 
retreated  from  harm's  way,  imagining  it  "best 
to  observe  the  rules  tolerably  in  letter  if  not 
in  spirit. 

Three  rebel  officers  of  rank,  Surgeons,  it 
was  supposed,  rode  into  camp  in  the  forenoon, 
and  after  inquiring  into  our  causes  of  com 
plaint,  made  us  many  fair  promises  of  improve 
ment  in  the  prison,  but  we  doubted  at  the 
time  if  they  would  ever  be  fulfilled.  The 
rations  which  followed  were  a  little  more 
varied,  having  in  addition  to  corn  meal  and 
bacon,  molasses  and  rice,  with  a  little  salt,  but 
exceedingly  small  quantities  of  anything.  It 
was  difficult  to  obtain  wood  enough  to  cook 
even  what  little  we  did  have. 

At  this  time  we  began  to  find  lice  upon  our 
clothing,  although  we  had  been  in  prison  but 


LIFE   IN   REBEL    PRISONS.  67 

two  or  three  days,  and  it  was  of  no  use  to 
attempt  to  rid  ourselves  of  them  for  they  were 
everywhere,  even  crawling  upon  the  ground 
where  we  -^lept.     "We  thought  of  our  friends 
at  home,  and  wondered  how  they  would  feel 
if  they  knew  we  were  in  such  condition.     To 
add  to  our  sorrow  and  indignation,  we  found 
a  large  gang  of  desperadoes  among  our  own 
men   in    camp,   whom    we    called   "Mosby's 
Raiders?  and  who  lived  by  robbing  and  beat 
ing,  sometimes  almost  murdering  their  com 
rades  in  misfortune.     They  attempted  to  carry 
out  their  plans  in  a  thieving  raid  upon  us, 
probably  meeting  with  a  strong  temptation  in 
the  looks  of  our  overcoats  and  blankets,  but 
we  were  out  in  a  twinkling,  prepared  for  our 
defense,  and   they,   seeing    an   overpowering 
force,  beat  a  hasty  retreat.     We  would  fain 
believe    that    such    men    are    an    exception 
among  Federal  soldiers,  but  it  may  be  we  can 
not  tell  how  harsh  treatment,  and  long  con 
tinued  neglect  and  abuse,  would  degrade  man 
hood  in  any  case.     We,  as  a  regiment,  pre 
sented  a  united  front,  and  were  therefore  too 
strong  for  them.     It  required  no  little  vigi- 


68  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

lance  and  sacrifice  to  adapt  ourselves  to  all 
these  circumstances  of  our  prison  life.  "Man" 

is  said  to  be  "a  creature  of  adaptation"  but 

* 

let  him  be  placed  within  the  stockade  of  a 
Georgia  prison,  subject  to  the  will  of  arbitrary 
rebels,  and  he  will  be  puzzled  to  make  himself 
a  very  graceful  representative  of  the  truth. 
Much  can  be  done,  however,  and  these  things 
I  resolved  to  make  rules  for  personal  observ 
ance,  at  least.  Feeling  that  cleanliness  was 
an  indispensable  condition  of  health,  I  deter 
mined  to  keep  clean  at  all  hazards,  and  there 
fore  I  would  repair  to  the  brook  at  early 
dawn,  before  it  had  been  disturbed  by  others 
with  like  intent,  and  there  wash  my  clothing 
as  well  as  I  could.  "God  willing,"  I  would 
say  to  myself,  "the  'rebs'  shall  never  have  the 
satisfaction  of  carrying  my  body  out  upon  a 
stretcher."  "I  will  live  to  spite  them." 

A  few  days  after  we  had  been  in  camp,  I 
visited  the  boys  of  the  16th  on  the  other 
side  of  the  camp,  and  found  them  well  and 
pretty  cheerful,  considering  their  situation. 

Towards  evening  of  the  day,  Corporal  F 

and  myself  walked  up  by  the  large  prison 


LIFE   IN   KEBEL   PRISONS.  69 

gate,  and  there  lay  ten  dead  men  ready  to  be 
carried  out  for  burial.  Tbey  were  to  be  taken 
just  as  they  were,  placed  in  an  army  wagon, 
one  upon  the  other,  until  it  was  filled,  and 
driven  off  to  the  place  of  burial,  like  so  many 
animals,  without  coffin,  or  even  a  winding 
sheet.  Then  they  were  to  be  placed  side  by 
side  in  long,  shallow  trenches,  a  few  boards 
placed  over  them,  a  covering  of  earth  thrown 
in,  and  the  burial  of  the  patriot  was  ended. 
We  could  but  sigh  for  these  thus  passing 
to  their  graves,  "unwept,  unlamented  and 
unhonored,"  but,  "was  it  so  f"  Surely  a 
nation's  pity,  and  a  nation's  gratitude  must  be 
stirred  at  sight  of  these  countless  sacrifices 
•upon  her  altars.  Then,  too,  as  the  intelligence 
should  find  its  way  back  to  many  a  home 
in  northern  vale  or  hill-side ;  to  the  hamlets 
on  western  prairies,  or  those  among  the  rug 
ged  slopes  of  the  East,  there  would  be  loving 
hearts  that  would  mourn,  and  many  tears 
would  be  shed  in  memory  of  the  silent  sleepers 
in  southern  graves,  and  for  the  future  they 
must  be  like  those  who  seek  in  vain  to — 

"Pluck  from  the  memory  a  rooted  sorrow." 


70  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

As  we  stood  there  in  presence  of  the  uncov 
ered  dead,  the  consciousness  of  our  situation 
led  us  to  feel, — 

"We  are  fellows  still, 

Serving  alike  in  sorrow.  Leaked  is  our  Bark, 
And  we,  poor  mates,  stand  on  the  dying  deck 
Hearing  the  surges  threat :" 

The  weather  was  very  warm,  and  at  even 
ing  many  of  the  poor  sick  men  repaired  to 
the  brook  to  bathe.  One  poor  fellow  who 
was  reduced  to  a  mere  skeleton,  found  himself 
too  weak  to  drag  himself  from  the  water,  and 
was  obliged  to  receive  help  from  a  comrade. 
Upon  passing  from  our  tent  the  next  morning, 
I  discovered  a  dead  body  lying  near,  and  look 
ing  more  closely  saw  it  to  be  this  same  poor 
fellow  who,  the  evening  before,  had  sought  the 
invigorating  influence  of  a  bath  for  his  weary 
frame.  He  has  met  the  grim  sentry,  Death, 
passed  over  the  dark  waters,  and  hope  would 
picture  him  as  among  the  glad  immortals. 

At  the  gate  were  twenty  others,  most  of 
them  from  the  poor  fellows  who  had  been 
prisoners  a  number  of  months  on  Belle  Island, 
in  the  Libby  and  Pemberton  at  Kichmond, 
and  also  at  Danville.  With  them,  also,  the 


LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  71 

warfare  was  accomplished ;  the  race  run,  and 
in  some  instances,  at  least,  we  trust  a  welcome 
victory  gained. 

The  regiments  of  rebel  soldiers  stationed  in 
the  vicinity  seemed  entirely  unmoved  by  the 
sight  of  so  much  suffering,  and  the  knowledge 
of  such  inhuman  treatment  of  thousands  of 
poor  fellows  in  their  midst,  only  served  to 
kindle  their  exultation  and  make  them  show 
it  out  in  wildest  demonstration.  Before  we 
had  been  many  days  in  captivity,  they  held  a 

SHAM   FIGHT, 

which  drew  admiring  crowds  of  people  from 
all  the  surrounding  country  to  see  how  the 
thing  was  done.  The  so-called  ladies  of  the 
South  are  exceedingly  bitter  in. their  opposi 
tion  to  the  North,  and  follow  their  "liege 
lords"  in  the  exhibition  of  it,  and  therefore 
on  all  such  occasions  they  are  present  to  do 
what  lies  in  their  power  to  keep  the  zeal  and 
enthusiasm  of  their  soldiers  up  to  the  fighting 
standard.  When  we  first  heard  the  firing  we 
thought  the  "  Yankees "  had  surely  come,  and 
the  hearts  of  our  poor  men  bounded  with  joy 
at  the  very  thought  of  deliverance,  but  they 


72  LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

sunk  proportionately  when  the  truth  of  the 
case  was  made  known  to  them.  Our  imagina 
tions  pictured  something  other  than  make 
believe  struggles  and  we  hoped  before  the 
summer  was  over  there  would  be  realities  that 
would  tell  with  some  favor  upon  our  destiny ; 
that,  at  least,  we  would  catch  the  echo  of 
some  sounds  of  different  spirit  and  intent  from 
those  our  heartless  foes  poured  into  our  ears 
during  that,  to  them,  hilarious  season.  After 
their  sport  was  over  in  that  line,  many  of  the 
women  came  down  to  our  prison,  crowding 
around  the  gate,  amusing  themselves  by 
throwing  in  bread,  and  witnessing  the  eager 
ness  with  which  our  half  starved  men  would 
scramble  to  get  it,  for  at  this  time  life  was 
sustained  only  by  a  miserable  pittance  of 
poor  corn  bread,  and  a  small  bit  of  boiled 
bacon.  Had  they  been  like  some  of  the  sym 
pathising  women  of  the  North  of  whom  we 
had  heard,  the  sight  of  so  many  pallid  faces 
and  wretched  forms,  would  have  stirred  their 
pity,  and  called  forth  some  effort  to  relieve  a 
little  of  the  suffering,  though  it  were  among 
those  who  had  held  arms  against  them.  In 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  73 

how  many  cases  had  loyal  ladies  gone  forth, 
themselves  reared  in  luxury  and  unused  to 
hardships,  and  with  their  own  hands  minis 
tered  to  the  wants  of  the  sick  and  wounded, 
not  overlooking  even  the  rebel  sufferer  in 
their  Christ-like  mission. 

We  could  but  think  of  the  humane  treat 
ment  our  foes  had  received  in  the  Federal 
dominions,  and  contrast  it  with  our  forlorn 
condition.  They,  with  the  best  of  clothing, 
abundant  rations,  comfortable  lodgings,  and 
the  kindest  hospital  treatment,  while  we  had « 
scarcely  covering  for  our  nakedness,  food 
insufficient  to  satisfy  even  the  cravings  of 
hunger,  no  bed  but  the  ground,  and  a  condition 
of  things  in  the  hospital  that  induced  speedy 
dissolution,  and  withal  we  wrere  compelled  to 
endure  tfce  sneers,  taunts,  and  abuse  of  men 
and  women  alike.  Not  that  we  in  our  misery 
would  have  retaliated,  for  we  felt  that  it  was 
the  Bible  way  of  doing  things  ;  that  we  were 
thus  exemplifying  the  spirit  of  the  gospel,  in 
heaping  "coals  of  fire"  upon  the  heads  of  our 
enemies,  and  besides,  we  had  not  been  with 
out  evidence  of  its  beneficent  results  in  our 


74  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

own  experience.  The  men  who  had  attended 
us  a  portion  of  the  way,  a  North  Carolina 
regiment,  had,  at  a  previous  date,  been  pris 
oners  of  war  upon  our  side,  and  in  remem 
brance  of  the  kindness  they  received  were 
more  favorable  to  us  than  they  otherwise 
would  have  been. 

We  reflected,  also,  that  the  time  would  come 
when  the  "cruel  war"  would  be  over,  and  it 
would  be  better  to  have  an  honorable  record 
upon  the  pages  of  history,  than  to  have  the 
.disgrace  of  the  world  upon  us,  for  such  "inhu 
manity  to  man,"  as  made  our  "countless  thou 
sands  mourn."  Amid  all  our  thoughts  and 
imaginations,  nothing  seemed  so  strange  to  us 
as  the  apathy  of  the  Federal  government^  and 
of  the  northern  people  toward  us ;  that  they 
were  doing  nothing  to  release  us  from  the 
inconceivable  wretchedness  in  which  we  were 
placed.  There  we  were,  thousands  of  human 
beings,  who  had  cheerfully  volunteered  for 
the  service  of  the  country,  ready  to  sacrifice 
everything  in  honorable  defense  of  her  laws 
and  institutions,  crowded  into  an  enclosure, 
with  no  room  for  exercise,  scarcely  enough 


LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  75 

to  move  without  jostling  against  each  other, 
the  very  air  filled  with  fetid  odors,  which  of 
itself  was  sufficient  to  plant  the  seeds  of  death 
in  every  system.  Eevolting  as  the  scenes 
were,  which  constantly  met  our  eyes,  we  could 
have  home  it  all;  we  could  have  met  sickness, 
hunger  and  exposure,  and  the  thousand  prison 
ills  which  beset  us,  with  brave  hearts,  but  for 
the  cruel  suspicion  which  tormented  us,  and 
which  was  "assiduously  fanned  by  the  rebel 
authorities,"  that  we  were  abandoned  by  our 
government  and  our  friends ;  those  whom  we 
had  so  faithfully  sought  to  serve,  and  but  for 
whom  we  would  then  have  been  in  our  homes 
of  cheer  and  comfort  at  the  North.  Many — 
yea !  hundreds,  who  would  have  experienced 
every  form  of  hardship  uncomplainingly,  "sank 
away  and  died,  heart-broken,  under  this  mel 
ancholy  delusion,  while  a  few,  whose  ties  to 
the  Union  were  new  and  slight,  sought  to 
avenge  their  supposed  wrongs  by  taking 
service  in  the  rebel  ranks." 

We  had  no  means  of  ascertaining  the  falsity 
of  any  of  these  things,  shut  out  as  we  were 
from  all  communication  except  that  from 


76  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

rebel  authority,  and  that  was  not  calculated 
generally,  to  soothe  our  fears  or  quiet  our 
suspicions.  This  much,  however,  we  have  to 
say  to  the  credit  of  our  brave  boys,  that  in  a 
vast  majority  of  cases,  no  combination  of 
suffering  makes  them  a  whit  less  firm  in  their 
allegiance  to  the  Union  cause,  or  prompts  a 
desire  for  peace,  except  on  a  true  and  lasting 
basis.  They  do  not  wish  to  see  the  old  Union 
as  it  was,  with  the  dark  stain  of  slavery  upon 
it ;  to  have  it  remain,  a  perpetual  element  of 
discord  at  home,  and  a  just  cause  for  reproach 
abroad,  but  they  do  wish  for  the  use  of  prompt 
and  energetic  measures  to  hasten  the  day 
that  shall  bring  a  desirable  end.  They  do  not 
ask  to  be  free  from  all  participation  in  the 
strife,  but  they  do  long  to  walk  forth  from 
their  cankerous  dens,  even  though  it  be  to 
meet  the  sulphurous  smoke  of  the  cannon,  in 
the  fiercely  contested  battle,  for  there,  at  least, 
would  be  glorious  action,  and  per  chance  a  lull 
that  might  give  a  grateful  moment  under  the 
shadow  of  some  tree,  the  mossy  seat  rendered 
specially  inviting  by  the  remembrance  of  the 
place  where  not  a  foot  of  earth  could  be 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  77 

found  but  was  infested  with  creeping  tilings 
that  made  it  well  nigh  intolerable. 

When  we  had  been  captives  of  little  more 
than  a  week  standing,  the  rebel  sergeant, 
Carmichael,  who  counted  our  squad  every 
morning,  told  me,  after  roll-call  in  the  morning, 
that  the  exchange  officer,  Major  Turner,  was 
in  Andersonville,  and  the  work  of  exchanging 
prisoners  would  begin  as  soon  as  the  action- 
on  the  Rapidan  was  over.  Allowing  the  state 
ment  to  have  an  exhilarating  influence  upon 
my  own  spirit,  I  went  up  to  the  hospital  to  do 
what  I  could  by  way  of  comforting  the  poor 
sick  men  there.  I  read  to  them  and  tried  to 
cheer  them  by  telling  them  of  what  I  had 
heard  of  the  prospect  before  us,  but  the  poor 
fellows  had  been  deceived  too  many  times  to 
dare  build  a  hope  upon  such  a  rumor. 

Little  did  we  then  know  how  many  would 
pay  the  last  debt  of  nature,  and  leave  their 
wasted  bodies  in  Georgia  soil,  before  such  a 
result  would  be  accomplished.  Happily  for 
us,  then,  we  could  not  read  the  "Book  of 
Fate;'  or  turn  the  leaves  of  wonder-working 

Providence  for  the  utter  blasting  of  our  hopes 
4 


78  LIFE  IN   KEBEL   PRISONS. 

would  have  been  too  much  for  us,  and  many 
would  have  died  in  despair.  The  pious  heart 
could  only  remember  that  it  was  to 

"  Judge  not  the  Lord  by  feeble  sense, 
But  trust  him  for  his  grace," 

and  also  comfort  itself  with  that  other  assur 
ance,  that 

"  Behind  a  frowning  providence, 
He  hides  a  smiling  face." 

The  policy  of  the  Confederate  authorities 
respecting  us  seemed  to  be,  to  unfit  as  many 
as  possible  for  future  service,  and  to  secure 
the  object  more  speedily,  they  cut  down  the 
rations  to  half  the  usual  quantity,  so  that  the 
old  prisoners  who  had  been  in  the  notorious 
Libby,  at.  Richmond,  declared  it  was  even 
worse  than  at  that  place.  Had  it  been  by 
reason  of  scarcity ; — had  we  known  their  sup 
plies  were  unequal  to  our  need,  we  should 
have  felt  differently — we  could  have  submitted 
to  the  inexorable  necessity,  but  we  had  reason 
to  think  otherwise. 

About  this  time  a  copy  of  the  "Macon 
Telegraph"  was  brought  into  camp,  giving  an 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  79 

account  of  the  commencement  of  the  great 
battle  between 

GRANT   AXD   LEE. 

It  was  represented  as  the  "bloodiest  battle  of 
the  bloody  war/'  but  not  boasting  much  of 
their  success,  we  concluded  the  "Stars  and 
Stripes"  were  triumphant,  and  "God  grant  it," 
was  the  fervent  prayer  that  went  up  from 
irmny  a  heart.  Of  one  thing  we  wrere  certain, 
if  our  General  wras  defeated  we  knew  our 
enemies  would  not  be  slow  in  acquainting  us 
with  the  fact.  In  the  numbers  that  immedi 
ately  followed,  the  telegraphic  news  was  cut 
out,  a  circumstance  that  looked  rather  omin 
ous,  and  quite  inclined  us  to  the  belief  that 
Grant  had  pretty  thoroughly  routed  Lee. 
Feeling  well  over  the  reports,  a  crowd  of  boys 
of  the  16th  collected  and  showed  their  enthu 
siasm  by  singing  "America"  "Star  Spangled 
Banner;'  "Red,  White  and  Blue;'  at  the  top 
of  their  voices,  probably  much  to  the  disgust 
of  our  guards  on  the  stockade,  though  possi-  fc 
bly  not,  for  many  of  them  were  so  ignorant  it 
was  doubtful  if  they  knew  one  song  from 
another.  Their  general  lack  of  intelligence 


80  LIFE    IN    REBEL   PRISONS. 

was  illustrated  in  a  little  incident  which 
occurred  when  we  first  entered  the  prison. 
A  rebel  officer,  with  all  the  dignity  of  his 
position,  while  surveying  the  newly  arrived, 
remarked  to  them,  "if  there  is  a  sergeant 
among  you  that  can  write  his  name,  he  may 
step  forth," — as  if  it  was  a  matter  of  doubt 
whether  his  northern  guests  had  even  such 
an  advantage  as  this  in  their  training.  A 
smile  might  have  been  observed  on  the  faces 
of  the  entire  crowd,  riot  one  of  whom,  boasting 
New  England  origin  but  could  wield  the  pen 
with  more  or  less  grace.  Southern  statistics 
could  show  no  fact  that  would  coincide  with 
this.  The  very  constitution  of  things  in  their 
society  rendered  the  whole  system  of  educa 
tion  defective. 

Following  closely  upon  our  jubilant  concert, 
and  as  if  to  dampen  the  ardor  of  our  patri 
otism,  an  item  of  news  was  brought  in  by  the 
rebels,  more  in  accordance  with  their  wishes. 
They  maintained  that  Gen.  Steele,  commander 
'  of  our  forces  in  Arkansas,  had  been  captured, 
with  his  whole  army,  consisting  of  upwards  of 
nine  thousand  men.  We  could  only  hope  it 


LIFE    IN*  REBEL    PRISONS.  81 

was  untrue,  for  we  were  still  keenly  sensitive 
to  our  nation's  honor.  Let  things  be  as  they 
might  outside ;  let  them  be  shrouded  in  uncer 
tainty  and  doubt,  of  one  thing  we  were  pain 
fully  conscious,  that  a  greht  congregation  was 
fast  going  to  the  silent  dead  from  cur  midst. 
Visiting  the  hospital  one  morning  I  found 
that  from  thirteen  in  one  tent,  three  had  died 
within  a  few  hours,  and  the  rest  looked  as  if 
their  days  were  fast  being  numbered.  Shortly 
after,  another  breathed  his  last,  but  from  what 
I  saw  of  him  I  think  he  was  ready  for  the  call 
of  his  Master  and  considering  our  situation 
we  almost  felt  inclined  to  say  with  more  than 
ordinary  emphasis,  "How  blest  the  righteous 
when  he  dies." 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  these  ever  recur 
ring  death-scenes  had  no  humanizing  effect 
upon  some  of  our  own  men.  The  gang  of 
gamblers  and  desperadoes  who  were  a  pest  to 
the  camp,  and  with  whom  life  and  property 
were  not  safe,  were  ever  ready  to  incite 
whomsoever  they  could  to  join  in  a  lawless 
mob,  although  the  solemnities  of  life's  closing 
<day  were  thick  about  them.  They  even  had 


82  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

a  fight  when  this  last  mentioned  man  was 
dying.  Who  would  not  rather  make  his  exit 
from  earth  under  different  circumstances? 
Who  would  not  choose  that  the  lamp  of  life 
should  go  out  among  friends  at  home, — gently 
— free  from  such  distracting  influences  ?  But 
there  was  manifestly  no  help  for  it.  The  Con 
federate  authorities  seemed  to  have  no  care 
of  what  passed  inside,  provided  we  were 
unsuccessful  in  making  our  escape  from  thence. 
We  were  left  entirely  free  to  frame  our  own 
laws,  and  carry  them  into  execution  if  we 
could. 

The  morning  of  the  llth  found  us  exposed 
to  a  pitiless  storm,  the  first  rainy  day  we  had 
in  camp.  Much  to  our  gratification,  however, 
we  found  our  own  little  tent,  made  of  woolen 
blankets,  to  shed  the  rain  very  well,  but  what 
they  would  become  by  the  continued  action 
of  sun  and  rain  was  a  question  that  deeply 
concerned  us.  According  to  frequent  rumors 
we  might  soon  be  in  the  land  of  plenty,  and 
moreover  of  humanity,  but  herein  was  our 
trouble,  there  were  too  many  stories  afloat  to 
have  a  good  foundation.  One  day  might  be 


LIFE    IN    REBEL    PRISONS.  83 

clieered  by  strong  assurances  of  immediate 
exchange,  and  the  next  sink  us  correspond 
ingly  low  in  despair.  For  some  reason  decep 
tion  seemed  the  peculiar  delight  of  our  ene 
mies.  Whether  they  did  it  to  gratify  an 
insatiable  thirst  for  revenge  in  themselves,  or 
to  keep  us  more  reconciled,  more  willing  and 
patient  to  abide  our  time,  was  something  we 
could  not  determine.  The  feelings  occasioned 
by  our  disappointment  can  be  better  imagined 
than  described,  but  imagination  even  in  her 
most  extravagant  flights,  can  but  poorly  pic 
ture  the  horrors  of  this  prison  life.  Our  con 
stant  experience  was  "Hope  deferred"  that 
"maketh  the  heart  sick."  Almost  every  new 
arrangement  that  was  made  seeined  to  make 
it  the  worse  for  us,  or,  at  least,  left  us  nothing 
but  to  fear  a  still  more  rigorous  discipline,  if 
it  were  possible. 

At  this  juncture  of  affairs,  when  Gen.  John 
ston  was  being  badly  pressed  by  Sherman's 
army,  it  became  necessary  for  the  rebels  to 
send  every  available  man  to  the  front,  conse 
quently  the  soldiers  who  had  been  our  guard 
were  ordered  to  Dalton  to  aid  in  repelling 


84  LIFE    IN    REBEL    PRISONS. 

him,  and  their  places  were  filled  by  some  of 
the  Georgia  militia.  The  former  looked  upon 
these  latter  with  supreme  contempt,  and 
applied  to  them  the  name  of  "new  issues"  but 
we  thought  not  of  anything,  or  cared,  except 
the  possible  change  it  might  work  in  our 
treatment,  although  we  expected  not  much  in 
our  favor  by  this  movemenf. 

From  this  time  onward,  for  a  while,  we  had 
some  communication  with  the  outside  world, 
through  the 

ARRIVAL  OF  PRISONERS, 

who  were  coming  into  camp  in  greater  or  less 
numbers  almost  every  day.  A  squad  of 
eighteen  or  twenty  came  in  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  twelfth,  all  of  them  from  Sherman's 
army,  with  the  exception  of  two  or  three  from 
Currituck,  N.  C.,  near  our  place  of  capture. 
The  boys  from  Dalton  brought  us  cheering 
news  from  our  forces  at  that  place,  telling  us 
that  our  brave  General  was  in  the  rear  of  the 
rebel  army  and  giving  them  what  we  were 
pleased  to  denominate  "particular  fits."  We 
did'nt  know  what  our  neighbors  thought  in 
the  camps  outside,  but  for  some  cause  there 


LIFE    IN    REBEL    PRISONS.  85 

was  a  great  deal  of  cheering  among  them — 
possibly  it  was  exultation  at  some  fancied 
victory,  a  not  very  strange  way  of  doing 
things  for  them,  as  they  have  sometimes  been 
falsely  informed  for  reasons  best  known  to 
the  original  inventors  of  the  fabrication. 
Occasionally  these  things  were  varied  by  some 
trifling  attention  to  our  comfort,  as  for 
instance,  a  number  of  men  were  set  to  work 
in  widening  the  brook,  with  the  idea  of  hav-^ 
ing  it  planked  upon  the  bottom  and  sides,  in 
order  to  give  the  men  a  clean  place  in  wThich 
to  wash.  These  matters  were  things  of  ines 
timable  value  to  us,  and  we  watched  their 
progress  with  the  deepest  interest,  all  the  while 
hoping  that  summer  would  not  pass  away 
without  its  completion. 

We  turned  from  watching  this  enterprise  to 
welcome  sixteen  more  prisoners,  but  no !  we 
will  not  say  welcome,  for  this  implies  congratu 
lation,  and  we  could  not  extend  anything  like 
this  to  a  human  being  about  to  be  initiated 
into  such  a  terrible  experience.  There  was 
one  thing  about  it,  the  news  they  brought 
was  most  eagerly  received.  These  were  from 


00  LIFE   IN    REBEL    PRISONS. 

Dalton,  and  we  learned  from  them  that,  when 
they  were  captured,  Sherman  was  flanking 
the  rebel  army,  and  that  Kilpatrick  was  there 
with  a  large  force  of  cavalry  and  mounted 
infantry.  Hope  suggested  the  possibility 
that  he  might  come  down  and  release  us,  in 
which  case  we  thought  we  could  speak  of 
welcome  in  unmistakable  terms.  The  sight  of 
a  man  at  the  head  of  such  a  force  would  have 
been  hailed  as  was  Moses,  in  ancient  times,  by 
the  oppressed  Israelites,  ds  the  Great  Deliverer. 


CHAPTER   III. 

DISCOVERY    OF    A    TUNNEL. 

IT  were  quite  remarkable  if  among  so  many 
men,  in  miserable  confinement,  there  were 
not  various  methods  of  escape  devised  and 
attempted.  Our  greatest  source  of  trouble 
was  the  fact  that  there  wrere  so  many  con 
temptible  traitors  in  our  midst,  who,  for  the 
sake  of  an  extra  ration,  would  betray  any 
attempt  to  escape  on  the  part  of  their  com- 


LIFE   IN    REBEL    PRISONS.  87 

rades.  This  made  an  effort  to  escape  almost 
an  impossibility  without  the  certainty  of  detec 
tion.  The  work  of  completing  a  tunnel  had 
been  silently  going  on,  and  we  hoped  to  be 
successful  in  keeping  it  from  the  peering  eyes 
of  the  rebels,  but  in  some  way  they  discovered 
it  on  the  afternoon  of  the  thirteenth,  and 
Capt.  Wirz  swore  that  no  more  rations  should 
be  issued  until  the  place  wras  filled  again  with 
earth.  This  captain  was  the  commandant  of 
the  interior  of  the  prison,  and  was  a  wretch 
of  the  first  or  worst  degree;  insolent,  over 
bearing,  heartless,  and  of  course  a  coward,  for 
no  man  but  a  coward  would  come  into  camp 
and  draw  a  revolver  upon  helpless  men  as  he 
had  done.  He  was  said  to  have  been  a 
deserter  from  our  army,  but  I'  could  not  vouch 
for  the  truth  of  it.  Notwithstanding  his 
threat,  we  did  not  go  supperless  that  night, 
for  the  "reb"  quarter-master  came  in  with 
men  and  the  necessary  implements,  and  filled 
up  the  place,  thus  blasting  one  more  hope ; 
but  as  this  principle  is  strong  in  youthful 
spirits,  we  quickly  turned  from  one  thwarted 
plan  to  the  formation  of  another,  which  might 


88  LIFE    IN    IlEliEL    PRISONS. 

in  its  turn  come  to  naught,  yet,  nevertheless, 
afforded  us  an  opportunity  for  the  employ 
ment  of  our  otherwise  inactive  energies. 

At  this  time  I  formed,  an  acquaintance  with 
Sergeant  Major"  E.,  of  the  15th  Wisconsin 
Volunteers,  from  whom  I  learned  there  was  a 

SECRET   ORGANIZATION 

in  progress  for  the  purpose  of  attempting  an 
outbreak  and  escape  on  a  grand  scale.  I  told 
him  he  might  count  me  in  on  any  such  project 
as  that,  for  one  might  as  well  lose  his  life  in 
such  an  attempt  as  to  die  by  inches  in  the  foul 
atmosphere  of  the  prison.  The  plan  was  to 
re-commence  tunneling,  and  in  this  way  under 
mine  the  stockade  at  several  different  points. 
At  a  pre-concerted  signal  the  men  were  to 
rush  upon  it  in  a  body  sufficient  to  overturn 
it,  and  still  another  body  were  to  seize  the 
artillery  and  turn  it  upon  the  rebel  camps, 
leaving  us  to  pursue  the  way  we  had  chosen, 
towards  Pensacola,  Fla.,  as  the  most  feasible, 
from  whence  we  could  join  our  lines.  A  great 
deal  was  involved  in  the  enterprise,  and  it 
was  necessary  to  start  right.  It  needed 


LIFE    IN    REBEL    PRISONS.  89 

extreme  caution,  time  and  patience,  and  more 
than  all,  perfect  union  among  the  prisoners, 
for  the  "rebs,"  with  eagle-eyes,  were  awake  to 
the  possibility. 

Under  pretense  of  digging  for  water  we 
would  sink  a  well  in  some  chosen  spot,  and 
after  getting  clown  several  feet,  abandon  it 
and  commence  in  another  place,  which  was 
really  the  point  of  attack  all  the  while,  but 
which  could  be  better  worked  by  the  ostensi 
ble  object  of  the  other.  Reaching  the  requi 
site  depth  in  the  second,  the  tunnel  was  to 
proceed  out  from  it  to  the  desired  place.  Of 
course  the  work  must  be  done  at  night,  and 
with  just  such  instruments  as  could  be 
obtained..  These  were  old  knives,  spoons, 
broken  canteens,  in  short  anything  that  could 
scoop  out  a  handful  of  earth.  This  in  one 
part  of  the  camp  was  of  a  reddish  color,  while 
in  others  it  was  so  sandy  as  to  defy  all  attempts 
to  make  a  way  through,  as  it  would  fill  in  as 
fast  as  we  might  dig.  To  dispose  of  this  as 
fast  as  it  would  be  taken  out,  we  obtained  an 
old  sack,  and  this  was  to  be  filled  and  passed 
along  to  men  who  were  to  be  stationed  at 


90  LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS. 

proper  intervals  between  the  point  of  work 
ing  and  the  first  well,  which  it  was  found  to 
be  very  convenient  to  fill  up  just  then,  as  a 
well  without  water  was  of  no  account. 
Beyond  this  it  was  conveyed  to  the  marshy 
places,  and  to  the  brook  itself,  and  left  there. 
As  nothing  could  be  done  except  under  cover 
of  the  friendly  shadows  of  night,  it  must  be 
comparatively  slow. 

The  days  were  many  of  them  fine,  and  the 
Johnnies  had  a  gay  time  without,  all  uncon 
scious  of  what  was  going  on  within.  While 
we  were  contemplating  the  best  method  of 
action  in  our  proposed  endeavor,  they  were 
having  a  pic-nic,  or  something  of  the  sort, 
among  themselves,  being  regaled  by  a  band 
of  music  with  such  airs  as  the  "  Bonnie  blue 
flag,"  and  "Southern  Marsailles,"  doubtless 
designed  to  "fire  the  southern  heart"  and 
inspire  it  with  hope  and  courage,  now  that  the 
two  armies  were  actively  contending  for  the 
mastery.  A  great  crowd  of  ladies  were  dis 
coverable,  who  were  probably  present  to 
applaud  and  admire  the  men  who  thought  it  a 
brave  deed  to  shoot  a  defenceless  prisoner. 


LIFE    IN    REBEL    PRISONS.  01 

In  these  moments  of  observation  I  said  to 
myself  "What  a  difference  being  inside  of  the 
stockade  makes  in  one's  condition !  Without 
all  is  gayety  and  happiness,  or  at  least,  appa 
rently  so,  while  within,  misery  remains  un 
checked,"  but  countless  others  have  known 
sorrow,  even — 

"  Illustrious  spirits  have  conversed  with  woe, 
Have  in  her  schools  been  taught," 

then  why  should  we  not  nerve  ourselves  as 
well  as  others  to  the  stern  discipline  ? 

Nearly  a  hundred  more  Yankee  prisoners 
came  in  on  the  15th,  most  of  them  from 
Sherman's  army  at  Dalton,  but  a  few  from 
Newbern  and  Plymouth,  N.  C.,  those  from  the 
latter,  however,  being  such  as  were  detained 
at  Tarboro  on  account  of  sickness.  The 
few  who  came  in  on  the  day  previous  were 
attacked  and  robbed  the  very  night  of  their 
arrival,  by  the  band  of  marauders  who  still 
infested  the  camp,  and  almost  completely 
ruled  it.  It  was  reported  that  one  poor  fellow 
came  to  an  utimely  death  at  their  hands,  and 
another  received  a  most  unmerciful  beating 
because  he  showed  resistance  to  their  inhuman 


92  LIFE    IN    REBEL    PRISONS. 

attempts.  Some  might  suppose  that  these 
men,  all  prisoners  for  the  same  cause,  would 
be  bound  together  by  kindred  ties,  inasmuch 
as  they  were  sharers  of  the  same  misfortune, 
but  we  are  not  to  forget  that  under  any  cir 
cumstances  the  same  number  of  men  would 
furnish  specimens  anything  but  favorable  to 
humanity.  There  was  a  Judas  among  the 
"twelve "of  Palestinian  memory,  so  now,  there 

b 

are  men  of  like  passions  and  character  in  small 
groups  of  whatsoever  locality.  One  thing  is 
certain,  the  monotony  of  our  camp  was  too 
often  varied  by  these  unwelcome  demonstra 
tions. 

It  was  about  these  days  a  rebel  publication 
fell  into  our  hands,  printed  at  Richmond,  and 
called  "The  Second  Year  of  the  War."  It 
was  a  very  one-sided  affair,  full  of  misrepre 
sentations,  making  everything  Southern  about 
perfect,  and  all  action  on  the  corresponding 
side  unworthy  and  barbarous.  I  finished  its 
perusal,  ending  with  thorough  disgust,  and 
wonderlhg  if  that  was  the  kind  of  trash  the 
Southern  people  would  have  to  accept  as 
history.  It  spoke  of  the  robbery  of  shoes 


LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  93 

and  clothing  from  the  dead  and  wounded,  at 
the  second  Bull  Run  battle,  as  a  very  com 
mendable  act  on  the  part  of  their  soldiers, 
and  the  tenor  of  the  whole  was  in  keeping 
with  the  same,  but  if  it  did  no  more  for  me, 
it  whiled  away  a  few  tedious  prison-hours, 
and  that  was  something  of  a  consideration. 
Things  which  we  would  not  have  once 
paused  to  consider,  now  arrested  our  atten 
tion,  and  really  ministered  to  our  happi 
ness.  Just  before  sunset,  one  afternoon,  the 
clouds  thickened  in  the  sky  above  us,  and 
poured  upon  us  a  little  rain.  They  soon 
broke  away;  the  sun  came  out,  and  in  the 
eastern  sky  appeared  a  beautiful  rainbow. 
"Is  it  a  good  omen  for  us  T  was  the  question 
it  prompted,  and  though  we  could  not  answer, 
we  certainly  looked  upon  it  with  pleasing 
emotion,  for  it  almost  seemed  like  the  coming 
of  a  heavenly  messenger,  and  this  was  the 
pledge  he  brought  that  God  had  not  forgotten 
us.  We  accepted  the  pledge  and  allowed 
faith  to  bring  its  own  comfort  into  the  passing 
hour,  nor  was  the  future  made  any  darker, 
but  rather  brighter,  by  the  sweet  teaching  of 
heavens. 


94  LIFE   IN  REBEL   PRISONS. 

The  fifteenth  was  our  second  Sabbath  in 
Camp  Sumter,  though  one  would  have  hardly 
thought  it  holy  day,  there  being  nothing  to 
distinguish  it  from  any  other  through  the 
week.  There  was  no  sanctuary  summons  for 
us ;  no  pealing  bell  to  remind  us  of  the  crowd 
who  were  gathering  under  the  roof  of  God's 
sacred  temples,  nor  scarce  an  influence  more 
quieting  and  elevating  than  usual.  Had  there 
been  even  a  retired  spot  in  any  corner,  one 
might  have  stolen  away  and  found  a  sort  of 
Sabbath  for  his  own  soul;  the  calmness  of 
solitude  might  have  brought  him  nearer 
heaven,  but  there  was  no  such  place  known 
there.  Those  who  were  so  fortunate  as  to 
possess  small  shelter  tents  could  retire  within 
them  during  the  warm  hours  of  the  day,  and 
perchance  forget  present  discomfort,  for  a 
reason,  in  recollections  of  the  past  and  antici 
pations  of  the  revealed  future,  but  even  then 
distracting  sounds  would  soon  recall  them  to 
the  sad  scenes  among  which  they  must  live. 

About  noon  this  day  we  were  startled  by 
the  report  of  a  gun  from  one  of  the  sentries, 


LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  95 

and  on  seeking  to  discover  the  cause  found 
that 

A  CRIPPLE, 

whom  we  had  often  seen,  had  been  shot  for 
going  inside  the  "dead  line"  and  refusing  to 
go  out,  saying  he  wished  to  die.  The  guard 
fulfilled  his  wish  very  quickly,  and  indeed,  any 
one  having  any  desire  to  "shuffle  off  the 
mortal  coil,"  has  only  to  step  inside  that  line, 
and  the  work  is  done.  It  was  the  general 
opinion  in  prison,  that  this  man,  though  a 
prisoner  himself,  was  a  traitor  to  the  rest  of 
us,  and  was  the  principal  agent  in  showing  the 
rebel  authorities  the  locality  of  every  new  "tun 
nel?  just  for  the  sake  of  a  small  reward  in  the 
shape  of  something  to  eat.  We  felt  that  if 
this  was  so,  shooting  was  only  too  good  for 
him.  Capt.  Wirz  was  around  soon  after  with 
a  guard,  spying  out  the  land,  but  we  heard 
nothing  of  his  being  enlightened  as  to  our 
undertaking,  which  was  still  steadily  going  on. 
I  was  daily  becoming  better  acquainted  with 
the  ringleaders  of  the  plot.  They  were  a 
bold  set  of  fellows,  most  of  them  those  who 
had  been  prisoners  for  a  long  time,  and  had 


96  LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS. 

tried  to  escape  several  times  before.  We  only 
hoped  they  would  be  more  successful  now. 
~  Towards  evening  of  this  same  Sabbath,  I 
again  visited  the  hospital,  and  found  only  one 
living  of  the  thirteen  who  were  under  that 
one  tent  fly  a  few  days  ago.  Death  reaps  a 
rich  harvest  here,  surely,  I  thought.  It  has 
emphatically  all  seasons  for  its  own.  Not  an 
hour  of  the  day  but  souls  were  winging  their 
way  from  that  miserable  prison  up  to  the 
throne  of  God.  Angels,  we  believe,  came 
down  to  that  wretched  place  on  errands  of 
love  ;  as  guards  to  earth-weary  spirits  in  their 
upward  flight,  and  moreover,  the  compassionate 
Jesus  looked  down  to  those  lowly  couches 
upon  his  trusting  ones,  and  paved  the  way 
with  light  for  them. 

From  the  hospital  I  went  to  a  prayer  meet 
ing  ; — not  such  a  meeting  as  people  have  at 
home,  and  as  I  had  had  in  the  land  I  had  left, 
but,  thank  God,  we  could  pray  as  wrell,  if  not 
better  there,  for  we  felt  the  need  of  Divine 
help  more  than  we  ever  could  while  sur 
rounded  with  every  help  and  every  comfort. 
The  shadows  of  evening  had  gathered  about 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  97 

us,  and  we  had  no  roof  over  our  heads  but 
the  sky,  and  no  light  but  that  of  the  moon 
and  stars,  but  these  things  we  knew  would 
prove  no  hindrance  to  our  access  to  the  mer 
ciful  throne,  and  the  listening  ear  of  the 
Eternal  would  as  readily  bend  to  our  praises 
and  complaints  there  as  anywhere  else. 

The  next  day  twenty-one  more  prisoners 
were  added  to  our  number,  coming  from 
the  same  point  as  those  who  -had  recently 
arrived.  They  brought  us  right  good  news 
from  Sherman's  army,  telling  us  of  the  cap 
ture  of  Dalton,  and  that  the  rebel  Gen.  John 
ston  was  falling  back  with  his  forces  to  Resaca. 
These  things  did  not  a  little  to  keep  up  our 
spirits.  Everything  was  dark,  however,  in 
regard  to  almost  all  other  points.  We 
heard  nothing  from  Richmond,  although  one 
of  the  guards  told  one  of  our  boys,  at  this 
.time,  that  it  was  "a  g  one-up  case"  and  that 
our  armies  were  getting  the  better  of  them 
everywhere. 

No  letters  at  all  came  to  us,  and  we  con 
cluded  all  communications  were  interrupted 
by  our  "  raiding  parties"  As  Kilpatrick  and 


98  LIFE  IN  REBEL  PRISONS. 

Stoneman  were  both  at  Kesaca,  and  meeting 
with  excellent  success,  we  could  not  but  hope 
they  would  head  an  expedition  for  our  libera 
tion.  For  some  reason  the  "rebs"  were  par 
ticularly  watchful  over  us,  evidently  fearing 
something  would  escape  their  notice,  and  they 
would  in  some  way  lose  their  hold  upon  us. 
Very  strict  orders  in  regard  to  attempts  to 
escape  were  read  in  the  camp  at  morning 
roll-call.  We  thought  it  very  poor  policy  for 
•  them  to  do  this,  for  the  penalties  were  only 
what  we  expected,  as  a  matter  of  course,  and 
the  issuing  of  the  order  only  proved  that 
they  were  "on  the  scare"  a  little.  The  pun 
ishment  assigned  for  the  violation  of  such 
orders,  was  the  wearing  of  a  heavy  cannon 
ball,  attached  to  the  ankle  by  a  chain.  This 
had  already  been  awarded  to  some,  but 
Yankee  ingenuity  had  found  a  way  by  which 
they  might  be  unfastened,  so  that  freedom  could- 
be  enjoyed  through  the  day,  and  the  thing 
put  on'  to  appear  in  due  form  before  rebel 
majesty  at  the  hour  assigned. 

None  can  tell  our  intense  longings  to  know 
the  real  condition  of  affairs  in  the  field.    Ke- 


LIFE   IN   REBEL  PRISONS.  99 

ports  in  regard  to  operations  were  various. 
At  times  we  would  feel  remarkably  cheerful 
over  the  good  news  brought  in  by  the  pris 
oners,  and  were  content  to  remain  in  our 
wretched  quarters  longer,  if  we  could  only 
know  Uncle  Sam's  armies  were  steadily  accom 
plishing  the  desired  result.  Through  this 
medium  we  learned  that  Gen.  Wessels  was 
confined  at  Macon,  and  that  Col.  Beach  had 
been  exchanged,  being  held  as  prisoner  of 
war  only  a  few  days.  We  were  again  told 
that  we  might  hope  for  this.  Capt.  Wirz,  and 
the  Confederate  newspapers,  also,  assured  us 
that  a  general  exchange  had  been  agreed 
upon,  and  that  four  hundred  had  actually 
been  exchanged  already, — Aiken's  Landing, 
on  the  James  river,  and  Savannah,  Ga.,  being 
the  chosen  points  for  execution;  but  our  expe 
rience  in  these  matters  had  been  to  confirm 
doubt  instead  of  hope. 

At  this  time  the  weather  was  quite  warm, 
but  fine,  and  the  evenings  beautiful.  The 
bright  moonbeams  looked  down  lovingly  upon 
us,  and  with  seeming  pity,  making  it  so  light 
we  could  see  to  read  the  fine  print  of  a 


100  LIFE   IN   REBEL  PRISONS. 

small  testament  quite  readily.  Could  we 
have  commissioned  it  to  do  anything  in  our 
behalf;  many  would  have  said, 

"  Roll  on,  thou  silvery  moon," 

and  tell  the  friends  of  the  soldier  the  misery 
in  which  they  dwell,  that  they  may  do  some 
thing  for  our  rescue." 

Resaca  contributed  another  quota  of  men 
on  the  20th.  They  brought  the  intelligence 
that  Joe  Johnston  was  falling  back  from 
Calhoun  towards  Atlanta,  and  that  Sherman 
was  flanking  him  all  the  time  as  usual.  These 
things,  doubtless,  had  some  influence  in 
exciting  the  fears  of  our  enemies,  and  it  soon 
became  evident  that  all  the  promises  they  had 
made  to  us  was  simply  to  keep  us  as  quiet  as 
possible.  To  this  end  we  attributed  the  slight 
increase  of  rations  for  a  time,  but  no  light 

'  O 

thing  could  divert  us  from  our  fixed  purpose, 
and  the  out-break  society  had  a  consultation 
in  spite  of  it  all,  and  at  its  close  we  could  say, 
in  the  words  of  a  once  famous  Connecticut 
politician,  " things  is  working" 

Day  by  day  the  weather  was  getting 
warmer,  and  it  was  fearful  to  think  of  spend- 


LIFE   IN   KEB^i,   ?BJ30Ng,/  101 


ing  the  summer  in  our  narrow  pen.  Prisoners 
were  coming  in  by  the  hundred,  and  this 
made  it  still  more  dreadful.  Among  half  a 
thousand  who  came  in  at  one  time,  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty  were  from  the  army  of  the 
Potomac,  who  were  taken  at  Parker's  store, 
May  5th,  in  the  first  of  the  series  of  battles  in 
front  of  Richmond.  The  next  day  six  hun 
dred  more  came  in,  having  been  taken  in  the 
wilderness  near  Chancellorsville.  The  7th 
Penn,  Reserves  were  among  them,  being  pecu 
liarly  unfortunate,  as  their  term  of  service 
expired  in  a  few  days,  and  now  they  were  in 
a  situation  not  to  be  as  promptly  mustered 
out  as  they  would  like.  Through  them  we. 
obtained  some  knowledge  of  the  manner  in 
which  things  were  progressing.  They  told  us 
of  the  confidence  of  the  army  in  Gen.  Grant, 
and  also  declared  that  it  was  in  splendid  fight 
ing  condition.  We  heard,  too,  that  Holcomb's 
Legion,  S.  C.,  were  captured  by  Spear's  cav 
alry,  so  the  tables  were  turned  upon  'them. 
A  short  time  before  they  had  been  guarding 
us  at  Tarboro,  N.  C.,  and  now  they  too  were 
prisoners.  Truly  the  fortunes  of  war  are 


PRISONS. 


We  felt  sorry  to  see  so  many  of  our  men 
captured,  but  they  assured  us  that  the  rebels 
lost  more  by  far,  than  we  upon  our  side.  For 
a  time  they  came  in  rapidly,  both  from  Grant's 
and  Sherman's  army,  and  while  this  state  of 
things  lasted  we  were  tolerably  well  informed 
of  the  doings  in  the  different  fields.  When 
some  of  the  latter  came  through  Atlanta,  the 
women  and  children  were  being  removed  to 
Macon  and  other  points  out  of  the  reach  of 
the  Union  army.  This,  of  course,  indicated 
the  character  of  Southern  opinion  with  refer 
ence  to  their  advancing  foe,  but  we  were 
cheered  in  proportion  as  they  were  distressed. 
>  The  rapid  influx  of  prisoners  made  an 
enlargement  Df  our  prison  limits  necessary, 
and  a  number  of  men  were  taken  out  to  do 
the  work.  They  had  extra  rations  as  an 
inducement,  and  better  treatment  in  every 
respect,  as  the  reward  for  their  labor.  I 
hardly  knew  what  to  think  about  it,  whether 
it  was  right  or  wrong.  The  question  would 
come  up,  "would  our  government  like  to  have 
its  soldiers  build  their  own  prisons  ?"  It  cer 
tainly  was  a  great  improvement,  and  of  untold 


LIFE   IN   KEBEL   PRISONS.  103 

benefit  to  the  inmates,  and  circumstances 
might  have  rendered  it  right  and  proper  that 
it  should  have  been  done  in  this  way.  On  the 
twenty -fourth  nine  hundred  came  in,  and  we 
were  getting  frightfully  crowded.  There  was 
no  circulating  about  the  camp  except  with 
the  greatest  inconvenience. 

There  was  a  great  deal  of  talk  among  the 
prisoners  about  breaking  out,  but  compara 
tively  few  knew  of  the  operations  in  progress 
to  secure  such  a  result.  This  very  night  of 

the  day  when  so  many  came  in  was  the  time 

« 

fixed  upon  for  the  grand  demonstration,  and 
if  everything  went  as  we  thought  it  might, 
it  bade  fair  to  be  a  success.  The  stockade 
was  duly  cared  for,  being  undermined  in 
five  or  six  different  places,  and  we  looked 
with  the  greatest  interest  for  the  hour  to 
arrive,  when  at  the  sound  of  the  trumpet,  the 
walls,  Jericho-like,,  would  fall  and  let  us  go  free. 
The  men  were  all  ready  for  a  general  rush  upon 
the  artillery,  and  imagination  already  pictured 
the  dismay  of  the  rebels,  and  our  own  triumph 
as  our  exulting  hosts  should  pass  on  beyond  the 
boundaries  of  oppression  towards  their  native 


104  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

land  of  freedom.  Many  hearts  beat  high  with 
hope  and  expectation  in  view  of  what  might 
be  coming/  Possibly  they  were  on  the  eve  of 
a  mighty  deliverance,  and  the  morning  might 
dawn  upon  the  place  where  imprisoned  legions 
had  been,  but  were  not.  The  night  was  auspi 
cious,  being  dark  and  rainy,  and  we  ardently 
hoped  everything  would  favor  our  darling 
scheme;  but  alas !  these  things  were  all 
doomed  to  sudden  re-action,  and  we  were 
made  to  feel  how  strangely  evanescent  are 
the  brightest  and  strongest  hopes ;  how 
quickly  these  may  yield  to  despair,  and  glad 
ness  be  turned  into  sorrow.  Just  before  the 
hour  for  action  had  arrived  we  found  the 
whole 

PLOT  WAS   DISCLOSED. 

One  of  the  ring-leaders  had  given  the 
minutiae  of  the  affair  to  Capt.  Wirz ;  one 
whom  we  had  supposed  true  from  his  very 
position,  and  whom  we  thought  by  every 
motive  of  self-interest  would  feel  himself 
bound  to  be  faithful  to  the  organization  of 
which  he  was  so  prominent  a  member.  Of 
course,  immediate  preparations  were .  made  to 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  105 

frustrate  our  designs,  and  through  the  ras 
cality  of  this  one  man  the  whole  thing  came 
to  naught,  leaving  us  like 

'•''Patience  on  a  monument, 
To  sit  smiling  at  grief" 

He  was  at  once  taken  out  of  prison  'and  prob 
ably  richly  rewarded  for  his  villainy,  and  it 
was  well  for  him,  for  his  long  continuance  on  ' 
earth  might  have  been  a  matter  of  doubt  if 
he  had  remained  in  his  accustomed  quarters. 
Vigorous  measures  were  quickly  taken  to 
prevent  any  further  attempts  on  our  part.  A 
large  reinforcement  of  rebel  troops  arrived  to 
make  the  guard  doubly  sure.  The  stockade 
was  strengthened  in  such  manner  as  to  resist 
a  like  onslaught  in  the  future,  and  things 
generally  indicated  a  determination  on  their 
part  to  make  sure  their  hold  upon  us  a  while 
longer. 

The  evening  after  the  disclosure  we  found 
the  following,  posted  near  the  prison  gate  : 

NOTICE. 

"  Not  wishing  to  shed  the  blood  of  hundreds  not  connected  with 
those  who  concocted  a  mad  plan  to  force  the  stockade,  and  make  in 
this  way  their  escape,  I  hereby  warn  the  leaders  and  those  who 
formed  themselves  into  a  band  to  carry  out  this,  that  I  am  in  pos- 


106  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

session  of  all  the  facts,  and  have  made  my  dispositions  accordingly, 
so  as  to  frustrate  it.  No  choice  would  be  left  me  but  to  open  with 
grape  and  canister  on  the  stockade,  and  what  effect  this  would 
have  in  this  densely  crowded  place  need  not  be  told. 

May  25th,  1864.  H.  WIRZ. 

As  it  proved,  the  only  consolation  we  could 
reap  from  the  transaction,  was  in  the  idea  that 
we  had  pretty  well  frightened  them.  We  had 
no  reason  to  think  our  condition  would  be 
any  the  better  for  it,  nor  could  it  hardly  be 
worse.  It  was  a  matter  of  chagrin  that  we 
were  betrayed  in  the  manner  we-  were,  but 
could  only  endure  what  we  could  not  cure. 
It  had  no  particular  tendency  to  allay  our 
irritation  to  see  the  rebels  bring  in  over  seven 
hundred  prisoners  that  day,  making  more 
than  sixteen  hundred  poor  fellows  who  had 
come  in  within  two  days.  They  were  from 
Grant's  army,  and  had  been  taken  in  the  early 
part  of  the  month.  They  had  been  robbed 
of  almost  everything  in  their  possession — 
ceats,  blankets  and  haversacks — leaving  them 
utterly  unprepared  to  stand  the  hardships  of 
prison  life.  I  could  not  forbear  exclaiming, 
"What  a  chivalrous  enemy  we  are  fighting!" 
"but,  "He  robs  himself  who  spends  a  bootless 
grief"  and  therefore,  amid  everything  calcu- 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  107 

lated  to  depress,  I  determined  to  maintain,  as 
far  as  possible,  that  energy  of  character  which 
Yon  Kneble  says  is  the  basis  of  all  "true 
hope."  \"A  strong  mind,"  he  says,  "always 
hopes,  and  has  always  cause  to  hope,  because 
it  knows  the  mutability  of  human  affairs,  and 
how  slight  a  circumstance  may  change  the 
whole  course  of  events.  Such  a  spirit,  too, 
rests  upon  itself;  it  is  not  confined  to  partial 
views,  or  to  one  particular  object.  And  if,  at 
last,  all  should  be  lost,  it  has  saved  itself — its 
own  integrity  and  wrorth.  Hope  awrakens 
courage,  while  despondency  is  the  last  of  all 
evils;  it  is  the  abandonment  of  good,- — the 
giving  up  of  the  battle  of  life  with  dead  noth 
ingness."  Fully  confident  in  this,  that  hope 
and  courage  were  the  best  physicians,  I 
brought  my  soul  into  as  close  companionship 
with  them  as  possible.  I  had  seen  many  give 
themselves  up  to  life-consuming  anxieties; 
had  seen  them  torture  themselves  with  insa 
tiable  longings  for  home,  friends  and  comfort, 
and  they  had  been  the  sure  victims  of  the 
grim  tyrant.  These  were,  indeed,  in  a  pitiable 
condition.  They  were  suffering,  and  naturally 


108  LIFE    IN   REBEL    PRISONS. 

enough  came  the  desire  for  the  tender  minis 
trations  of  mother,  wife  or  sister.  It  was 
natural,  also,  that  they  should  think  of  the 
little  home  luxuries  which  would  be  so  grate 
ful  now  to  their  sickly  tastes  and  feverish 
frames,  but  these  vain,  incessant  longings 
always  told  sadly  upon  their  condition.  It 
was  those  who  bore  up  with  brave  heart  and 
strong  will  that  came  out  the  best,  or  perhaps 
one  might  say  came  out  at  all.  Some,  by 
yielding  to  the  influence  of  the  horrors 
about  them,  relapsed  almost  into  a  state  of 
idiocy,  and  indeed  it  required  no  little  care  to 
preserve  the  type  of  intelligent  manhood  at 
all.  The  tendency  of  everything  about  us 
was  to  belittle  both  mind  and  body,  and  the 
call  was  urgent  for  a  high  standard  of  courage 
to  resist  the  swelling  current.  In  view  of  it 
we  wrould  say  to  every  one  just  being  intro 
duced  to  prison-life  from  the  army  of  his 
country,  "Be  hopeful,  be  courageous,  for  herein 
lies  your  strength." 

The  day  following  the  sensation  notice  of 
Capt.  Wirz,  he  took  several  men  into  his 
employ  for  the  purpose  of  digging  a  trench 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  109 

around  the  camp  inside  the  "dead  line"  for 
the  more  ready  discovery  of  any  "tunnels" 
that  might  have  been  dug,  and  also  to  render 
it  more  difficult  to  attempt  any  more  in  the 
future.  Doubtless  he  thought  he  was  doing  a 
smart  thing,  accomplishing  that  which  would 
effectually  put  an  end  to  all  similar  working, 
but  even  then  Yankee  ingenuity  was  busy  in 
solving  the  problem — how  this  could  be  made 
void — and  the  result  was  a  conclusion  to  dig 
under  the  trench,  although  it  involved  a 
greatly  increased  amount  of  labor.  It  was  a 
time  of  sore  extremity  with  us,  and  it  was 
daily  becoming  worse,  so  that  we  felt  from 
shrinking  from  no  undertaking,  however  haz 
ardous,  that  afforded  the  least  glimmer  of 
hope  that  we  might  escape.  The  rations  were 
miserable  and  wholly  inadequate  to  the 
demands  of  anything  like  a  healthy  organiza 
tion.  About  this  time  they  were  slightly 
varied  in  the  shape  of  two  buckets  of  mush 
for  ninety  men.  "Chicken  feed"  the  boys 
called  it,  and  it  seemed  a  very  appropriate 
name,  for  it  was  nothing  but  coarse  corn  meal 


110  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

and  water,  with  a  little  salt,  half  cooked.     The 
manner  of 

DISTRIBUTING  THE  RATIONS 

was  as  follows  : — Once  every  day  might  be 
seen  a  large,  uncovered  army  wagon,  drawn 
by  two  span  of  mules,  coming  into  the  prison- 
gate,  the  driver  seated  upon  the  near  mule 
behind,  and  an  officer  in  the  vehicle  whose 
business  it  was  to  check  what  was  issued  to 
the  sergeant  who  stood  ready  to  take  it  from 
another  who  stood  between  them,  and  pass  it 
over  to  the  "ninety"  which  constituted  the 
division  over  which  he  was  placed.  These 
"nineties"  had  sub  divisions,  so  that  the  work 
of  dividing  and  circulating  the  given  material 
was  quickly  done,  and  indeed,  often  times  this 
might  be  done  by  reason  of  the  very  small 
amount  that  was  allowed  for  distribution. 

Among  so  many  men,  with  such  variety  of 
taste  and  disposition,  feeling  and  motive,  it 
was  not  strange  that  some  little  incident, 
calculated  to  enhance  the  serenity,  or  disturb 
the  equanimity  of  the  prisoners,  should  be 
almost  constantly  occurring.  Oftener  it  was 
the  latter,  as  the  passions  of  men,  so  little 


LIFE    IN    REBEL    PRISONS.  113 

restrained,  found  manifestation  in  a  way  they 
would  not  in  the  midst  of  civilized  society, 
where  public  sentiment  frowns  upon  anything 
like  general  disorder.  It  was  not  infrequent 
that  one  of  the  camp  thieves  or  "raiders" 
would  be  arrested  in  his  proupH&g  operations 
at  night,  carried  to  the  brook,  to  endure  the 
process  of  "gagging"  and  "bucking"  having 
one  side  of  his  head  shaved,  and  this  not 
being  considered  sufficient  punishment,  he 
would  finally  be  thrown  into  the  swamp,  there 
to  consider  the  propriety  of  discontinuing  his 
"raids"  for  a  season.  Truly,  "the  way  of 
transgressors  is  hard." 

Another  thing  which  tended  to  keep  up  a 
little  excitement  was  the  frequency  with 
which  we  were  met  by  false  promises  from 
the  heartless  Captain  over  us.  Notwithstand 
ing  the  repeated  instances  of  deception  we 
had  experienced,  every  fresh  assurance  would 
of  course  stimulate  our  hopes  that  possibly  it 
might  be  true.  "When  he  told  us  that  in  four 
weeks  we  would  surely  vbe  within  our  own 
lines,  and  that  we  would  commence  going  out 
in  a  few  days,  we  could  only  say  to  each 


114  LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

other,  "  time  will  prove  the  truth  of  the  state 
ment."  "It  may  or  may  not  be, — most  likely 
the  latter." 

Soon  after  these  things  were  told  us,  the 
"rebs"  showed  unmistakable  signs  of  alarm 
about  something  The  working  parties  were 
all  ordered  inside  the  stockade,  while  their 
soldiers  were  posted  around  the  outside  of 
the  prison,  as  if  in  expectation  of  an  immedi 
ate  attack.  Appearances  indicated  something 
quite  out  of  the  ordinary  course  of  events, 
but  it  was  of  short  duration,  as  they  finally 
returned  to  their  camps,  and  everything  went 
on  as  usual.  We  afterwards  learned  that  the 
whole  thing  was  occasioned  by  a  report  that 
a  body  of  our  cavaly  had  crossed  over  Flint 
river,  at  a  point  only  twelve  miles  from  us. 
We  began  to  reckon  of  "  the  good  time  com 
ing"  and  were  content  to  "wait  a  little  longer" 
for  it,  provided  it  would  only  come,  but  as  we 
heard  nothing  more  from  it  we  were  obliged 
to  consider  the  whole  report  incorrect,  and 
settle  ourselves  down  again  to  the  toleration 
of  our  wretched  lot.  What  this  wretchedness 
includes,  one  may  imagine  somewhat  if  he 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  115 

seriously  think  what  it  means  to  have  nothing 
but  half  a  loaf  of  corn  bread,  weighing  about 
six  or  seven  ounces,  as  the  only  thing  upon 
which  to  subsist  for  twenty-four  hours. 

Whether  what  preceded  the  distribution  of 
this  short  allowance  had  anything  to  do  with 
it  or  not,  I  can  not  tell,  but  it  was  quite  cer 
tain  that  this  was  the  way  we  had  often  been 
made  to  feel  the  power  of  their  indignation. 
A  number  of  "  tunnels  "  were  discovered  about 
this  time,  and  filled  in  by  the  "Old  Dutchman" 
and  his  minions.  This  personage  was  none 
other  than  Capt.  Wirz  himself,  who  \vas  best 
known  in  prison  by  that  name.  Indeed,  a 
stranger  would  have  thought  it  his  only  title. 
In  all  things  that  pertained  to  this  common 
labor  of  the  prison,  he  had  become  Argus-like, 
and  every  new  discovery  only  tightened  the 
cords  which  his  hate  would  draw  about  us,  but 
why  should  we  cease  ?  We  could  but  perish 
if  we  were  betrayed,  and  it  was  quite  certain 
many  would,  if  they  remained  much  longer. 
One  hundred  and  seventeen  men  wrere  added 
to  our  number  on  the  28th,  having  been  cap 
tured  at  Cass  Station,  twenty-five  miles  from 


116  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

Atlanta,  in  the  rear  of  our  army,  but  they 
were  a  stupid  set,  mule  drivers,  &c.,  and  they 
brought  us  but  little  news  of  any  character. 
The  "Macon  Confederate"  was  boasting  of 
a  great  victory.  Grant  had  been  defeated 
with  the  loss  of  sixty  thousand  men,  and  Gen. 
Sherman's  army  was  "greatly  demoralized" 
but  we  felt  a  little  inclined  to  make  some 
allowance  for  its  stories,  since  the  latter  had 
met  such  success  in  flanking  Joe  Johnston  and 
his  army,  and  to  set  down  the  paper  as  the 
chief  of  false  teachers. 

The  29th  was  the  day  so  often   sung   by 
Christian  assemblies  as  the  one  of 

"All  the  week  the  best, 
Emblem  of  eternal  rest," 

and  do  you  wonder  that  I  allowed  memory 
and  imagination  to  do  their  utmost  to  convey 
me  to  a  different  atmosphere ;  that  I  found  my 

SABBATH   THOUGHTS 

to  be  recorded  at  its  close  in  something  of  the 
following  manner?  "My  mind  has  been  at 
home  to-day,  and  I  have  seen  in  imagination 
the  dear  old  church  with  all  its  blessed  associ 
ations ;  the  Sabbath  school  with  its  teachers 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  117 

and  scores  of  happy  children,  and  last,  but 
not  least,  'the  old  homestead]  in  its  rural 
peace  and  quiet.  I  wonder  if  they  know  at 
home  of  our  real  condition  here.  If  the 
nation  itself  knew  of  it,  it  seems  as  if  we 
would  be  liberated,  even  if  an  army  had  to  be 
raised  for  this  work  alone." 

Nearly  a  thousand  prisoners  came  in  on  the 
afternoon  of  that  Sabbath,  what  would  have 
been  considered  a  large  congregation  in  many 
of  our  city  churches  at  home.  A  few  of 
them  were  those  who  had  come  from  other 
rebel  prisons,  but  the  greater  part  of  them 
were  from  Grant's  army,  and  Siegel's  corps  in 
the  Shenandoah  valley.  Some  of  the  1st  Mass. 
regiment  were  among  the  number.  They  were 
captured  just  on  the  eve  of  their  departure 
for  home,  their  time  having  expired,  and 
great  must  have  been  their  disappointment  to 
have  been  brought  to  such  a  place,  when 
they  had  slmost  felt  the  touch,  and  seen  the 
smile  of  welcome  from  the  "loved  ones  at  home" 

An  almost  equal  number  came  in  on  the 
following  day,  among  whom  were  a  large 
number  of  Connecticut  men.  Twenty-four  of 


118  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

the  8th  regiment ;  fifty-two  of  the  7th ;  one 
hundred  and  thirty  of  the  llth ;  and  fifteen 
of  the  21st.  They  all  belonged  to  Gen.  But 
ler's  division,  and  were  captured  two  weeks 
before,  in  an  attack  upon  Fort  Darling,  near 
Eichmond.  Their  captors  had  robbed  them 
of  everything,  from  blanket  to  haversack,  so 
that  there  was  nothing  before  them  but  actual 
suffering  for  the  -want  of  a  covering  amid  the 
exposures  to  which  they  must  be  subject. 
That  night  I  worked  until  near  midnight, 
with  a  few  friends,  upon  a  " tunnel"  It  was 
new  work  for  me,  and  rather  hard,  but  I 
was  willing  to  work  hard,  if  I  could  only  get 
out  of  that  horrible  den,  into  God's  country 
once  more.  Our 

"MODUS   OPERANDI" 

in  "tunneling"  was  something  after  this  sort: 
To  begin  with,  a  situation  was  selected  near 
the  dead  line  as  possible,  in  order  to  make  the 
distance  as  short  as  it  could  be  to  the  outside 
of  the  stockade.  A  hole,  or  "well"  as  we 
termed  it,  was  first  sunk  straight  down  to  the 
depth  of  six  or  eight  feet,  and  then  the  "tun 
nel  "proper  was  started  towards  the  stockade, 


LIFE    IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  110 

under  which  it  passed.  But  one  man  could 
dig  at  a  time,  but  we'  often  relieved  each 
other,  as  the  work  was  very  fatiguing.  As. 
we  continued  our  excavations  the  dirt  was 
pushed  back  in  the  manner  1  have  indicated 
before,  in  a  meal  sack,  which  we  stole  from 
the  ration  wagon  for  the  purpose.  Every 
morning  a  line  of  bright  red  earth  could  be 
seen  along  the  edge  of  the  swamp,  the  nightly 
result  of  the  labors  of  earnest  seekers  after 
freedom. 

Every  night  fires  were  kindled  at  short 
intervals  all  around  the  prison,  and  a  line  of 
pickets  posted  outside  these  fires,  so  that 
"tunnels"  had  to  be  continued  a  long  distance 
out  in  order  to  have  the  place  of  egress  as 
safe  as  possible.  We  usually  commenced 
operations  about  nine  or  ten  o'clock  at  night, 
or  as  soon  as  it  was  dark  enough  to  admit  of 
our  working  without  being  seen  by  the  vigi 
lant  sentinel  upon  the  stockade.  In  this  par 
ticular  we  had  the  advantage  of  them,  for  we- 
could  plainly  see  and  watch  them  by  the 
light  of  the  circle  of  pitch-pine  fires  around 
the  prison,  while  they  could  not  see  us  at  all 


120  LIFE    IN    REBEL   PRISONS. 

*y 

down  in  the  darkness  of  the  pit.  In  this 
instance,  at  least,  we  preferred  "darkness 
rather  than  light/'  although  our  deeds  were 
not  evil. 

If  the  thing  could  be  carried  through  to 
completion,  some  dark  and  stormy  night  would 
be  chosen  in  which  to  pursue  the  pathway  to 
light.  The  slight  curtain  of  earth  that  had 
been  left  at  the  end  would  be  carefully  broken 
through,  and  those  who  had  dug  the  lane 
would  stealthily  crawl  out  and  make  for  the 
woods  and  swamps,  but  a  few  rods  distant. 
After  the  owners  had  safely  passed  through, 
any  one  else  was  welcome  to  go  out  by  the 
same  way,  and  it  was  considered  quite  desira 
ble  to  have  them,  as  it  distracted  the  blood 
hounds,  and  prevented  them  from  getting  on 
the  track  of  the  first  ones.  Very  few,  how 
ever,  succeeded  in  making  good  their  escape 
in  this  way,  for  insurmountable  obstacles 
would  almost  invariably  occur  to  render  the 
attempt  abortive.  As  we  have  before  stated, 
it  was  almost  impossible  to  complete  anything 
of  the  kind  without  being  betrayed  to  the 
Confederate  authorities  by  some  of  the  cow- 


LIFE    IN   REBEL    PRISONS.  121 

arclly  traitors  in  our  midst,  who  for  the  sake 
of  an  extra  ration  of  corn  bread,  or  a  plug  of 
tobacco,  would  tell  all  they  knew  of  any 
attempt  to  escape,  and  beside  it  was  not 
uncommon  for  a  "tunnel,"  when  nearly  com 
pleted,  to  cave  in  on  account  of  the  nature  of 
the  soil. 

Although  the  exertion  made  us  tired  and 
stiff,  we  yet  continued  our  labors,  and  thought 
we  were  progressing  gloriously,  coming  nearer 
and  nearer  to  freedom  every  hour,  when  sud 
denly  we  came  upon  an  unlocked  for  barrier, 
which  ended  alike  our  visions  and  our  efforts. 
An  old  hospital  sink  had  been  covered  over  in 
this  very  spot,  and  stood  there  a  thing  impen 
etrable,  between  us  and  the  liberty  we  thought 
we  were  bringing  to  ourselves.  These  were 
some  of  the  "shadows"  of  camp  life.  If  there 
were  any  "lights"  they  were  the  feeble  hopes 
built  upon  rebel  falsehoods.  About  the  first 
of  June  they  told  us  that  the  51st  Virginia 
regiment  was  at  Andersonville  for  the  purpose 
of  guarding  us  to  the  place  of  exchange. 
Whether  they  were  there  or  not  we  can  not 
say,  but  we  are  quite  sure  we  were  not  among 


122  LIFE   IN   REBEL    PRISONS. 

Prisoners  still  continued  to  be  brought  in, 
the  majority  from  Butler's  army,  the  remain 
der  from  Sherman's,  with  the  exception  of 
some  few  from  other  prisons  that  were  becom 
ing  somewhat  unsafe,  in  consequence  of  the 
movements  of  our  forces  in  too  close  prox 
imity.  Some  eight  or  ten  of  the  latter  came 
on  crutches,  having  already  lost  a  limb  in  the 
service.  We  hardly  saw  the  propriety  of 
sending  such  men  to  us,  for  they  'could  not 
run  away  if  they  would. 

About  this  time  there  came  a  severe  rain 
storm,  giving  us  a  good  wetting,  but  we  felt 
little  like  grumbling,  for  it  proved  a  rich  bless 
ing  to  the  camp,  washing  away  an  immense 
amount  of  filth.  It  wras  hard,  however,  for 
the  thousands  of  men  who  had  not  even  the 
poor  shelter  of  a  woolen  blanket  for  their 
protection.  It  was  just  such  a  time  as  we 
might  expect  some  poor  fellow  would  try  to 
make  his  escape,  and  a  couple  of  shots  after 
dark  told  us  that  such  was  probably  the  case, 
and  this  was  the  greeting  he  received. 

We  had  had  but  little  rain  in  the  early  part 
of  our  history  in  camp,  but  now  we  began  to 


LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  123 

think  that  June  was  the  rainy  month  in 
Georgia,  and  that  it  had  set  in,  in  right  good 
earnest.  We  ^could  not  betake  ourselves  to 
any  refuge  from  the  tempest,  and  though  the 
wind  should  blow,  and  the  rain  descend  in 
torrents,  we  must  stand  and  take  it.  Of 
course  none  will  be  surprised  if  we  had  to  lay 
ourselves  down  to  rest  in  rather  of  a  moist 
condition,  but  let  such  a  night  be  followed  by 
good  news  from  our  army  in  the  morning,  and 
it  was  wonderful  how  it  lessened  the  feeling 
of  discomfort  consequent  upon  it.  It  was  at 
such  time  that  we  heard  that  Gen.  Grant  had 
broken  Lee's  center,  and  that  the  5th  corps 
occupied  Mechanicsville,  only  four  or  five  miles 
from  Richmond;  also  that  Fort  Darling  had 
fallen.  It  was  almost  too  good  to  believe, 
and  prudence  suggested  that  we  wait  for  its 
further  confirmation  before  we  were  very 
jubilant  over  it,  but  it  afforded  us,  at  least, 
something  to  think  upon.  These  things  were 
also  accompanied  by  the  report  that  His 
Majesty,  King  Jeff,  had  asked  for  an  armistice 
of  six  days,  in  which  to  repent  of  his  evil 
ways,  and  seriously  consider  the  question  of 


124  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

submitting  to  lawful  authority,  but  we  in  our 
prison  hoped  most  sincerely,  if  anything  of 
the  kind  had  been  asked,  it  would  not  be  met 
by  disgraceful  compromises  for  the  sake  of 
peace,  but  by  renewed  activity  on  the  part  of 
our  armies  to  bring  things  unto  such  a  basis 
that  the  sword  might  be  honorably  sheathed, 
and  the  Union  be  restored  and  preserved  as 
it  should  be.  To  hold  any  communication 
with  the  arch  traitor  for  anything  less  than 
this  was  something  of  which  we  did  not  like 
to  think.  We  were  in  a  place  that  seemed  to 
us  to  surpass  all  others  in  everything  that 
tended  to  make  life  gloomy,  but  we  could  still 
say,  "  Our  country  forever  " — "  tribulation  shall 
not  make  us  part  with  our  love  for  it." 

A  miscellaneous  crowd  of  prisoners  came 
in  on  the  3d,  who  were  captured  at  different 
times  and  places,  having  fought  under  the  com 
mand  of  three  Generals,  Grant,  Burnside  and 
Siegel.  Some  came  in  also  from  colored  regi 
ments.  A  number  of  the  54th  Mass,  regiment, 
and  some  others,  were  already  of  our  number, 
and  they  were  universally  treated  better  than 
we  white  soldiers.  They  were  taken  outside 


LIFE   IN    REBEL    PRISONS.  125 

every  day  to  perform  some  labor,  and  allowed 
double  rations,  and  also  the  privilege  of  buying 
things  outside  and  bringing  them  into  the 
prison  at  evening,  and  selling  them  to  such  as 
had  any  money,  for  a  good  round  price  in 
"greenbacks" 

Rain  was  the  order  of  the  day  about  these 
times.  It  would  commence  very  early  in  the 
morning  and  continue  through  the  day,  per 
haps  slacking  just  enough  to  enable  us  to 
cook  a  little.  To  those  who  dwell  in  their 
"ceiled  houses"  this  may  not  seem  a  particu 
larly  important  item,  but  to  those  who  had  no 
shelter,  no  alternative  but  to  feel  the  pitiless 
torrents  upon  their  stiffened,  aching  limbs, 
and  no  bed  at  night  but  the  cold,  wet  ground, 
it  was  a  matter  of  painful  interest.  The 
thunder  would  roar  and  the  lightning  flash, 
and  we  would  have  what  the  "rebels"  would 
call  a  "right  smart  shower"  but  it  was  all  the 
same  to  us, — we  must  take  it.  Imagine  these 
wretched  thousands  trying  to  shield  them 
selves  in  every  possible  way  from  the  fast  fall 
ing  rain,  and  then  see  them  turn  hopelessly 
away  and  lie  down,  with  their  scanty  garments 


126  LIFE   IN   HEBEL   PRISONS. 

already  drenched,  to  be  tantalized  with  dreams 
of  comfort,  if  so  be  that  sleep  does  not  utterly 
refuse  to  embrace  them  in  such  circumstances. 
Then,  too,  comes  the  waking  hour,  surely 
attended  with  the  consciousness  of  weariness 
and  pain,  that  can  not  be  removed,  since  the 
aggravating  cause  is  ever  present.  I  remem 
ber,  myself,  waking  long  before  daybreak  with 
these  uncomfortable  symptoms,  and  finding 
them  my  companions  all  the  day  long ;  but  I 
meant  to  keep  well  at  all  events,  if  determina 
tion  of  will  could  do  anything  towards  it. 
Sickness  began  to  increase  fearfully,  in  conse 
quence  of  the  wet  weather,  and  many,  doubt 
less,  died  from  the  effect  of  exposure  alone. 

The  4th  of  June  I  visited  the  outside  world 
for  the  first  time  since  my  entrance  into 
prison.  An  opportunity  was  offered  to  a  few 
of  us  to  go  out  after  wood,  and  I  gladly 
availed  myself  of  it,  just  for  the  sake  of 
breathing  the  pure  air.  Oh,  how  good  it 
was  for  us  to  get  out  into  the  woods  once 
more,  among  the  trees  and  flowers !  It  almost 
seemed  like  a  new  world,  and  my  spirit  rev 
eled  in  the  glad  change  for  the  brief  season  it 


LIFE   IN   REBEL    PRISONS.  127 

was  given  me  to  enjoy  it  in.  What  a  blessed 
thing  it  would  have  seemed  to  us  then,  if 
we  could  have  made  that  place  our  home, 
instead  of  going  back  to  that  filthy  den  !  How 
much  better  it  would  have  been  for  us  to 
have  made  our  bed  under  the  spreading 
branches  of  those  trees,  that  would  have  done 
their  best  to  have  screened  us  from  the  chill 
ing  deics  and  falling  rain,  for  the  unconscious 
kindness  of  inanimate  things  is  dearer  to  the 
heart  than  conscious,  continued  unkindness  of 
living  men,  at  least,  we  felt  that  it  would  have 
been  so  then.  A  half  dozen  men  took  advant 
age  of  the  freedom  thus  allowed,  and  made 
their  escape,  making  the  rest  of  us  feel  that 
the  ban  of  proscription  would  be  put  upon 
all  like  privilege  in  the  future.  We  were  not 
with  them  when  they  managed  to  do  the 
thing,  but  they  "muzzled"  or  overpowered  the 
guard  that  was  with  them,  and  left  on  a  bee- 
line  for  their  federal  comrades  somewhere. 

An  unusual  number  of  camp  rumors  were 
afloat  on  the  fifth,  one  of  which  was,  that 
Pearson,  the  rebel  Colonel,  had  positively 

stated  that  the  work  of  paroling  would  com- 
fi 


128  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

mence  on  the  following  day.  It  was  also  told 
us  that  Gen.  Lee  had  evacuated  Richmond. 
We  put  them  both  down  as  rebel  lies  for  we 
had  seen  and  heard  so  much  we  would 
scarcely  believe  them  upon  oath,  and  the 
sequel  proved  us  correct,  for  the  next  day 
came,  and  evening  also,  and  paroling  wras 
something  of  which  nothing  was  known  or 
heard. 

Two  or  three  days  after  this,  several  hun 
dred  more  prisoners  were  brought  in,  some 
from  the  armies  of  Grant  and  Sherman,  but 
many  of  them  found  their  way  thither  as  the 
result  of  a  clearing  out  of  the  Richmond 
prisons  and  hospitals.  Through  this  medium 
we  learned  that  Gen  Siegel  had  been  relieved 
of  his  command,  by  order  of  Gen.  Grant,  for 
disobedience  of  orders,  and  that  Maj.  Gen. 
Hunter  had  taken  his  place ;  also  that  Gen. 
Lee's  head-quarters  were  at  Danville,  Va.,  he 
having  fallen  back  from  his  position  near 
Richmond.  From  every  appearance  the  gen 
eral  condition  of  things  did  not  seem  calcu 
lated  to  keep  the  rebel  element  about  us  very 
quiet.  The  men  were  in  commotion,  and  evi- 


LIFE    IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  129 

dently  manifested  concern  about  something. 
They  went  busily  to  work  planting  artillery 
to  command  the  camp  and  railroad,  an  effort 
that  was  understood  when  we  found  that 
Kilpatrick  was  operating  with  a  cavalry  force 
in  the  vicinity  of  Augusta.  They  were,  no 
doubt,  preparing  to  receive  a  visit  from 
their  Federal  brother,  and  thought  it  advisa 
ble  to  guard  against  too  great  intimacy  with 
the  household,  in  general,  over  which  they 
presided.  As  for  ourselves,  whenever  we 
thought  of  such  a  jpossi6fe  visit,  we  counted 
upon  a  violation  of  their  laws  of  etiquette, 
and  an  acquaintance  as  intimate  as  we  desired. 
We  calculated  to  enter  our  complaint,  and  he 
in  turn  would  show  forth  his  sympathy  in  a 
way  agreeable  to  us,  but  displeasing  to  them; 
but  our  imaginings  were  useless,  as  no  oppor 
tunity  was  given  us  at  that  time.  We  were 
to  encounter  the  storms  and  tempests  a  little 
longer.  This  had  come  to  be  our  daily  expe 
rience.  Our  blankets  were  getting  worn  and 
threadbare,  and  afforded  us  but  poor  protec 
tion.  The  large  drops  beating  against  them 
would  find  their  way  through,  and  give  us  a 


130  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

Copies  of  the  Charleston  Mercury  of  the 
sixth  and  seventh  found  their  way  to  our 
hands,  giving  an  interesting  account  of  a 
naval  conflict  on  Albemarle  sound,  between 
the  rebel  iron  ram  of  the  same  name,  and 
several  of  our  new  wooden  gunboats;  also, 
the  capture  of  the  U.  S.  steamer  "  Water 
Witch"  in  Ossabaw  sound,  near  Savannah,  Ga., 
by  five  barges  filled  with  "rebs"  who  boarded 
her  as  they  did  the  Under  Writer,  at  New- 
bern,  N.  C.,  last  winter.  The  editorials  of 
these  papers  expressed  a  great  deal  of  regret 
that  any  of  their  State  legislatures  should 
advocate  peace  propositions  at  this  time,  as  it 
would  very  likely  be  construed  as  an  evidence 
of  iveakness  on  their  part,  and  gratuitous  infor 
mation  that  tended  to  anything  of  this  sort 
was  against  their  principles. 

Although  we  were  mindful  of  the  allowance 
it  was  necessary  to  make  for  the  communica 
tions  of  these  papers  printed  in  rebeldom,  yet 
they  gave  us  something  of  an  idea  of  what  was 
passing  on  the  other  side ;  a  side  from  which 
we  were  as  effectually  barred  as  the  Orientals 
in  their  strong-walled  cities  at  night,  as  far  as 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  131 

any  intercourse  was  concerned.  There  was 
this  difference,  however,  the  gates  opened  for 
them  every  morning — for  us,  almost  never. 
They  could  go  forth  to  traverse  the  hills 
and  vales  beyond,  as  they  wished,  leisurely 
beholding  the  rising  glories  of  early  dawn,  or 
musing  with  calm  content  upon  the  richer 
beauties  of  the  setting  sun.  Noontide,  morn 
and  evening  were  alike  to  us,  save  as,  now 
and  then,  we  were  hurried  under  a  heartless 
guard,  to  some  neighboring  wood,  to  gather  a 
small  supply  for  our  necessity,  and  then 
hastened  back  within  lines  and  bars,  rigidly 
drawn  and  securely  fastened. 

The  country  about  our  camp  was  gently 
undulating,  and  not  far*  from  us  were  large 
pine  forests,  that  evidently  had  not  rang  to 
the  woodman's  axe  for  a  long  time,  if  ever. 
In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  our  camp  there 
was  nothing  green.  Should  anything  struggle 
for  life  through  the  hard  earth,  it  would  soon 
be  trodden  down  by  the  tramp  of  so  many  feet. 
It  might  be  that  in  some  chosen  corner,  some 
dwarfed  and  stunted  thing  would  be  tenderly 
guarded,  because  of  the  idea  of  greenness  and 


132  LIFE   IN    REBEL  PRISONS. 

growth  which  it  might  impart.  In  this  way 
a  few  stalks  of  Indian  corn  were  permitted  to 
grow,  and  it  would  have  well  nigh  been  con 
sidered  sacrilege  to  have  destroyed  what 
was  so  richly  suggestive,  to  thousands  of 
hearts  there.  How  much  the  remembrance  of 
kindred  things  had  to  do  with  our  repeated 
attempts  to  escape,  I  will  not  say.  At  any 
rate  we  determined  to  keep  them  up.  I 
became  interested  in  still  another  "tunnel" 
and  things  again  proceeded  so  far  that  it  was 
almost  ready  to  " break"  If  the  weather  was 
favorable,  one  more  night,  we  thought,  would 
be  sufficient  to  complete  the  arrangement, 
and  put  us  on  the  wray  to  freedom.  Before 
dark  I  went  over  to  the  other  side  of  the  camp 
to  see  Sergt.  Maj.  S — ,  with  reference  to  it,  and 
there  learned  to  my  surprise  and  deep  regret, 
that  it  had  caved  in,  after  having  been  dug  a 
distance  of  ninety  feet.  Disappointed  feeling 
exclaimed,  "This  is  too  bad!"  All  our 
attempts  to  escape  had  been  frustrated  just 
as  they  had  seemed  on  the  point  of  succeed 
ing,  but  remembering  the  old  school  motto — 


LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  133 

"If  at  first  you  don't  succeed^ 
Try,  try  again" 

we  immediately  began  to  dig  for  another. 
There  might  be  this  advantage  in  working 
under  the  earth,  one  might  possibly  keep  dry. 
Above,  thunder  storms  were  the  order  of  the 
day,  sometimes  one  following  another  in  quick 
succession. 

So  much  rain  seemed  to  hold  the  pugilistic, 
element  in  check,  but  the  "raiders"  event 
ually  meant  to  make  up  for  lost  time.  On 
the  return  of  a  pleasant  morning,  they  had 
five  distinct  fights  before  roll-call,  which  was 
in  the  early  part  of  the  day;  but  one 
must  remember  we  had  no  laws  but  those  of 
our  own  making,  and  these  could  not  be 
enforced  with  authority  they  thought  bind 
ing.  There  seemed  no  way  but  for  every  one 
to  follow  the  bent  of  his  own  inclination,  and 
in  numberless  instances  the  leaning  of  the 
"tree"  showed  -the  unhappy  twisting  of  the 
"twig"  at  some  other  period  of  history. 

For  some  days  no  prisoners  were  brought 
in,  a  circumstance  that  was  quite  remarka 
ble,  since  they  had  been  coming  so  rapidly 


134  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

almost  every  day,  for  a  long  time.  But  the 
absence  of  this  excitement  was  balanced  by 
the  rumor  in  general  circulation,  that  a  thou 
sand  men  were  to  be  taken  out  of  prison  for 
the  purpose  of 

RETALIATION, 

as  our  government  had  showed  signs  of  doing 
the  same  thing  for  the  Fort  Pillow  massacre. 
"  If  it  is  so/'  we  said,  "  let  them  try  it,  and  see 
how  they  will  succeed."  "Perhaps  in  some 
way  they  may  get  a  full  cup  wrung  out  to 
them." 

Amid  all  these  unpleasant  episodes  of 
prison  life  we  continued  to  brighten  many 
an  evening  hour  by  talking  over  old  home 
scenes,  and  rehearsing  the  jolly  times  of  old 
in  our  regiment,  before  we  had  been  called 
"to  hang  our  harps  upon  the  willows,"  in  a 
strange  land.  These  things  furnished  us  with 
material  for  lively  conversations,  and  reminded 
us  of  a  story  of  two  men  who  were  once  placed 
in  the  confinement  of  a  cell  for  some  years,  for 
a  matter  relating  to  truth  and  conscience.  No 
light  was  ever  given  them  to  show  them  the 
dismal  walls  of  their  windowless,  sunless 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  135 

apartment,  or  to  reveal  to  each  other  the 
features  of  his  companion.  They  could  only 
listen  to  each  other's  voices,  and  the  first  year 
they  whiled  away  the  time  by  rehearsing  in 
each  others  ears  every  little  incident  of  their 
lives.  The  second  year  they  amplified  and 
embellished  these  as  best  they  could,  but  the 
third  found  them  altogether  talked  out,  and 
no  alternative  left  them  but  perpetual  silence, 
so  that  the  weariness  of  their  confinement 
pressed  heavily  upon  them,  and  there  was 
clanger  that  the  mind  would  cease  its  power 
to  work.  It  required  no  very  great  stretch 
of  the  imagination  to  take  in  the  truth  of 
this.  Activity  of  mind,  in  any  case,  requires 
that  it  have  its  appropriate  aliment  to  stimu 
late  it,  and  shut  out  for  any  considerable 
period  of  time  from  all  this,  it  will  necessarily 
grow  feeble  and  sluggish.  It  is  true  that,  as 
far  as  numbers  were  concerned,  these  were 
enough,  but  all  were  in  the  same  condition, 
circumscribed  in  range  of  thought  and  action. 
It  came  to  be  quite  an  era  in  our  lives  if 
we  could  be  guarded  to  the  adjacent  woods 
for  a  season.  Several  of  the  boys  were 


136  LIFE   IN   EEBEL   PRISONS. 

allowed  to  go  out  in  this  manner  on  the  llth 
of  what  would  have  been  the  "month  of 

roses  in  our  own  land.     Sergeant  F and 

one  of  the  Corporals  from  our  own  little 
squad  went  out,  and  came  back  in  great  glee, 
bringing  with  them  some  beautiful  flowers, 
and  what  was  of  more  use  to  us,  a  good  sup 
ply  of  wood.  They  brought  us  a  glowing 
account  of  the  beauties  of  the  outside  world, 
making  us  ask  again,,  in  addition  to  times 
unnumbered  before,  "  When  will  our  irksome 
confinement  end  ?"  That  night  the  sun  went 
down  like  a  globe  of  fire,  in  the  midst  of  rain 
clouds,  and  thus  closed  another  week  of  our 
stay  in  what  so  many  have  called  the  u  sunny 
South." 

We  awoke  Sunday  morning  to  find  our 
thoughts  "homeward  bound?  as  usual.  We 
wondered  what  they  were  doing,  thinking 
and  saying  there,  and  it  really  seemed  to  do 
us  good  to  think  and  dream  of  home.  We 
felt  that  we  should  be  fully  prepared  to  appre 
ciate  its  comforts,  if  we  should  live  to  return. 
Sixty-eight  prisoners  came  in  that  day  from 
Sherman's  army,  which  they  reported  to 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  137 

be  near  Marietta.  The  rations  which  awaited 
them  and  us  were  a  few  spoonsfull  of 
uncooked  rice,  a  tea  spoonful  of  salt,  and 
about  two  ounces  of  bacon,  and  this  to  be 
cooked  and  eaten  amid  the  mud  and  misery 
which  a  regular  "  north-easter  "  was  producing 
about  us. 

It  was  said  that  one  hundred  and  two  died 

that  day,  and  from  what  I  saw  I  think  it  was 

true.     We  became  so  accustomed  to  death,  it 

lost  all  its  solemnities,  and  was  looked  upon 

as  nothing  unusual.     Indeed,  one  or  two  could 

almost  always  be  seen  dying  at  the  brook-side. 

For  some  reason  the  roll-call  was  omitted  on 

the  following  morning,  and  the  Sergeants  of 

the  "nineties"  received   orders    to    send    the 

sick  up  to  the  prison  gate.     This  at  once  gave 

foundation  to  the  report  that  these  were  to  be 

sent  off  to  our  lines,  and  that  a  large  number 

beside   were  to   be  paroled.     Many  believed 

the  rumor,  and  there  was  excitement  for  a 

while,  but  it  soon  passed  away,  as  no  one  left. 

We  were  to  learn  that  it  was  not  very  easy  to 

gain  a  transition  from  our  mud  and  filth  to  dry, 

cleanly  things,    It  was  very  damp  from  inces- 


138  LIFE    IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

sant  rain,  and  we  suffered  with  the  cold,  but 
%  were  better  off  than  hundreds,  yea,  thousands, 
who  lay  down  every  night  to  seek  their  rest 
without  any  covering  at  all.  Belle  Island 
could  not  have  been  much  worse.  "  Will  God 
prosper  a  government  which  treats  defence 
less  men  like  this?"  we  asked,  and  we  were 
answered,  "No!  it  is  a  sin  to  think  so  for  a 
moment:' 

When  I  would  have  to  stay  in  my  little 
dog-kennel  of  a  tent  nearly  the  whole  day,  on 
account  of  rain,  it  was  hard  sometimes  to 
keep  from  "feeling  blue"  but  I  had  kept  up 
good  spirits  so  long,  I  reasoned  with  myself 
upon  the  propriety  of  continuing  the  same 
until  I  should  step  within  Uncle  Sam's  lines, 
and  then  it  would  require  no  effort  to  be 
light-hearted;  it  would  come  as  a  matter  of 
course.  I  emerged  from  my  narrow  quarters 
for  a  little  season,  on  the  afternoon  of  such  a 
day,  hoping  to  luxuriate  in  the  woods  for  a 
time,  as  it  was  our  turn  to  obtain  fuel.  We 
waited  at  the  gate  a  long  time,  with  the 
expectation  of  having  it  opened  unto  us,  but 
were  finally  told  by  the  rebel  Sergeant  that 


LIFE    IN    REBEL    PRISONS.  189 

we  could  not  go,  and  we  went  back  to  our 
tent  again,  to  do  as  best  we  could,  with  our 
meal  and  bacon. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

ARRIVAL   OF   PRISONERS. 

ABOUT  the  middle  of  the  month  things 
seemed  to  be  growing  wrorse  and  worse. 
Twenty-three  hundred  prisoners  came  in,  in 
two  days,  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth,  partly 
from  Grant's  army,  but  more  from  Butler's. 
"Poor  fellows!"  wre  said  silently,  as  they  came 
in,  "it  is  an  awful  place  for  you  to  come  into 
just  now."  It  was  bad  enough  at  any  time, 
but  worse  than  ever  then,  because  of  the  mud 
and  filth  wrhich  everywhere  covered  the 
ground.  Several  of  our  regiment  who  were 
left  behind  to  take  care  of  the  wounded  at 
Plymouth,  were  brought  along  with  them, 
introducing  a  welcome  visitor,  in  "Trip"  Co. 
B's  little  dog,  who  had  been  with  us  long 
months  before  we  were  taken.  "We  at  once 


140  LIFE    IN    RE3EL   PRISONS. 

concluded  to  consider  him  a  fortunate  dog  if 
he  was  not  converted  into  steak  or  soup  in 
the  early  part  of  his  residence  among  us. 
'We  were  actually  suffering  from  hunger. 
When  I  attempted  to  arise  from  a  sitting  pos 
ture  I  would  find  myself  dizzy  and  blind  for 
a  few  moments,  and  I  could  attribute  it  to 
nothing  but  our  exceedingly  meagre  diet. 
It  was  poor  in  quantity  and  miserable  in 
quality.  At  this  time  we  had  but  just  wood 
enough  to  cook  a  little  rice  for  breakfast,  and 
we  could  have  nothing  more  the  remainder  of 
the  day.  Let  the  intensity  of  our  cravings 
be  ever  so  great,  there  was  no  remedy.  Six 
of  our  "ninety"  were  at  length  permitted  to 
gather  their  ''handful  of  sticks"  that  we 
might  cook  our  cake  of  meal  on  the  morrow, 
and  truly  men  must  be  of  the  trice  metal  to 
remain  staunch  and  true  through  all  this. 
That  they  did  the  following  little  incident 
will  testify. 

A   YANKEE  TRAITOR 

who  works  in  Americus,  making  shoes  for  the 
Jeff  Davis  government,  said  to  be  first  and 
foremost  in  the  shop,  came  into  camp  and  was 


LIFE    IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  141 

caught  trying  to  entiee  out  others  to  work  .< 
with    him.     It    excited    the    indignation    of 
many,  and  as  a  fit  punishment  for  what  was 
esteemed  his  villainy,  he  was  taken  and  half 
of  his  head  shaved,  and  then  left  to  make  his 
way  out,  hooted  and  jeered  at  by  the  whole  \ 
crowd,  but  even  then  it  was  considered  alto 
gether  too  slight  for   one   who   would   dare 
tamper  with  their  loyalty.     This  was  a  jeal 
ously  guarded  treasure  through  the  whole. 

Our  hopes  that  things  would  be  better  after 
the  visit  to  the  woods,  were  not  realized,  for 
if  nothing  else  were  in  the  way,  the  rain 
would  seriously  interrupt  our  cooking.  The 
Orderly  and  myself  made  a  breakfast  of  corn- 
meal  and  water,  stirred  together  without  salt, 
and  half  cooked  upon  a  tin-plate,  and  a  little 
scrap  of  bacon  beside,  although  we  felt  it  to 
be  a  shame  to  dignify  such  stuff  by  the  name 
of  « breakfast" 

In  the  after  part  of  the  day  I  went  up  for 
medicine  for  the  sick  men  in  our u mess"  and 
while  waiting  for  my  turn  to  be  served,  I  had 
a  good  confidential  talk  with  one  of  the 
guards,  whom  I  found  to  be  a  true  Union  man. 


142  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

He  had  been  driven  from  his  home  into  the 
'Confederate  army  about  four  weeks  before, 
although  for  a  year  and  a  half  he  had  man 
aged,  in  one  way  and  another,  to  keep  out  of 
the  service.  He  was  a  very  intelligent  man, 
of  about  middle  age,  and  gave  it  as  his  opinion 
that  the  C.  S.  A.  was  about  "played  out:'  The 
heavy  rains  had  destroyed  the  wheat  crop, 
and  it  was  doubtful  in  Ins  mind  if  the  Confed 
erate  government  could  subsist  us  three 
months  longer.  The  matter  thus  represented, 
of  course,  made  it  appear  more  hopeful  for  us. 
He  was  looking  for  a  speedy  change  in  his 
own  condition,  for  "as  soon  as  your  army 
crosses  the  Chattahoochee  river,"  he  said  to 
me,  "I  shall  turn  away  from  these  things  and 
seek  my  home."  When  I  returned  to  my  tent 
after  this  interview,  I  found  that  the  old 
stories  had  been  renewed  with  great  zest,  and 
that  some  believed  that  transports  were  at 
Savannah,  with  rebel  prisoners  for  exchange. 
The  number,  however,  who  had  been  ready  to 
receive  such  doctrine  had  greatly  diminished, 
and  there  was  no  lengthened  exultation  over 
this. 


LIFE    IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  143 

Scenes  of  a  different  character  soon  engaged 
our  attention.  A  man  who  was  quietly  sleep 
ing  in  his  little  blanket  tent  near  the  edge  of 
a  well,  wras  suddenly  buried  alive  by  the  fall 
ing  in  of  the  earth.  This  was  followed  not 
long  after,  by  the  wounding  of  two  men  by 
the  guard.  A  man  had  stepped  inside  the 
" dead  line"  and  was  at  once  fired  upon,  but 
instead  of  receiving  any  injury  himself,  it  had 
fallen  on  the  innocent  two  who  were  lying 
down  in  their  tent.  Amid  these  scenes  we 
noted  the  arrival  of  ninety-five  more  men; 
those  who  had  belonged  to  a  raid  sent  from 
Memphis,  Tenn.,  \inder  command  of  Gen. 
Sturgis,  and  were  attacked  and  badly  defeated 
by  the  rebel  Gen.  Forrest,  at  a  place,  in  Mis 
sissippi.  Gen.  Sturgis  is  said  to  have  been 
intoxicated  during  the  engagement,  and  that 
as  soon  as  he  saw  things  were  likely  to  go 
against  him,  he  turned  away  with  a  portion 
of  his  cavalry,  and  sought  to  save  himself 
from  capture.  A  recruit  for  our  regiment  was 
among  the  number  who  came  in.  He  was 
captured  on  a  raid  in  Hertford  Co.,  N.  C.,  and 
that  was  the  first  time  he  had  ever  seen  the 


144  LIFE   IN    REBEL    PRISONS. 

Sixteenth,  to  which  he  was  bound.  Quite  a 
novel  place  to  join  them  in. 

On  the  morning  of  the  20th  we  heard  that 
gold  was  down  to  119  in  New  York,  and  that 
many  brokers  had  been  ruined  by  its  decline. 
We  thought,  however,  that  it  was  good  news, 
if  only  true,  for  surely  it  would  not  have  had 
such  a  fall,  but  for  great  military  successes, 
and  these  were  our  special  delight.  We  were, 
ourselves,  in  a  situation  to  do  nothing,  and  it 
afforded  us  intense  satisfaction  to  know  that 
the  ivheels  of  2)r°yress  were  moving.  It 
called  all  our  energies  into  requisition  to  keep 
the  current  of  life  in  our 'own  bodies  from 
utter  stagnation.  We  attempted  to  build  a 
mud  stove  for  our  comfort,  as  there  was  plenty 
of  that  material  at  hand,  but  the  rain  made 
our  labor  ineffectual.  Already  we  had  seen 
twenty  days  of  rain  in  succession,  and  we 
began  to  reckon  on  becoming  used  to  it. 

That  day  Corporal  B ,  of  our  regiment, 

who  had  been  long  time  in  a  sickly  condition, 
finished  his  earthly  course.  He  was  the  first 
of  our  number  to  die  in  that  place,  and  it 
very  naturally  gave  rise  to  the  inquiry,  in 


LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  145 

thoughtful  minds,  u  Who  will  go  next  through 
the  dark  valley  into  the  spirit  world  ?"  The 
blows  of  the  fell  destroyer  were  falling  thick 
and  fast,  and  none  could  ward  them  off.  By 
night  and  day  he  rioted  in  our  midst,  claiming 
his  victims  by  the  score,  and  forcing  upon  us 
the  reflection  that 

"  The  appointed  house,  by  heaven's  decree, 
Receives  us  all  at  last." 

While  awaiting  the  completion -of  the  new 
stockade,  the  roll-call  was  omitted  a  few  morn 
ings,  and  lest  some  have  a  wrong  idea  of  this, 
I  will  here  say,  that  names  were  never  called, 
but  every  morning  a  rebel  Sergeant  would 
make  his  appearance,  at  which  time  we  wrould 
fall  in,  four  ranks  deep,  when  he  would  count 
us,  and  make  sure  that  everything  was  right 
before  he  left  us.  This  intermission,  we 
thought,  would  have  afforded  us  a  fine  oppor 
tunity  to  escape  without  being  missed,  if 
other  things  had  been  favorable,  but  hitherto 
some  "unconquerable  bar"  had  always  been 
interposed  between  us  and  freedom,  and  there 
seemed  little  encouragement  to  proceed.  Be 
side,  the  rebels  were  on  the  alert,  being  in 


146  LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS. 

constant  expectation  of  an  attack,  as  it  was 
reported  that  our  cavalry  were  in  the  imme 
diate  vicinity.  Nearly  all  the  forces  about 
the  prison  were  sent  away,  leaving  scarcely 
none  but  the  guard  on  the  stockade.  In  this 
period  two  hundred  more  from  Gen.  Sturgis' 
raid  came  in,  all  giving  the  same  story  in 
regard  to  the  shameful  conduct  of  their  com 
mander.  Thus  can  it  be  seen  how  little  our 
every-day  life  varied.  Almost  constantly  we 
wrere  seeing  new  ones  come  in  to  swell  the 
tide  of  misery  for  themselves  and  us.  Now 
we  would  see  a  "raider"  led  by  our  tent  in 
chains;  with  his  head  shaved,  to  some  place  of 
punishment,  and  again  the  report  of  some 
gun  would  tell  us  that  some  poor  and  perhaps 
unconscious  trespasser  had  gone  too  near  the 
line  of  death,  and  had  sealed  his  fate  with  his 
blood.  It  was  so  on  that  day.  One  poor 
fellow  was  shot  through  the  body  just  for 
reaching  inside  the"Zme,"to  get  &  root  for 
the  purpose  of  making  a  little  fire  to  do  some 
cooking.  The  one  who  thus  shoots  a  soldier, 
it  is  said,  receives  a  "furlough"  as  a  reward 
for  the  very  virtuous  deed  he  has  done.  The 


LIFE    IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  147 

absolute  truth  of  this  I  can  not  vouch  for,  but 
I  have  noticed  that  almost  invariably  the  man 
who  performs  such  an  act  is  relieved  from 
duty  by  another  person,  and  he  is  not  seen. 
Desirable  as  a  furlough  might  be,  I  would 
poorly  relish  it,  if  gained  only  by  murdering 
a  helpless  fellow  creature.  Not  long  after 
this  I  narrowly  escaped  a  similar  fate  myself. 
Going  up  after  medicine  for  the  "ninety"  I 
ignorantly  stepped  over  the  boundary  line, 
but  looking  up  just  in  season  to  observe  the 
attitude  of  the  too  willing  sentinel,  I  saw  my 
danger  and  saved  my  life. 

Almost  every  afternoon,  at  four  o'clock,  it 
was  the  duty  of  the  Sergeant  of  the  "nineties''' 
to  obtain  remedies  for  the  sick,  provided  there 
were  any  to  be  had.  After  roll-call  in  the 
morning  the  sick  ones  were  allowed  to  go  out 
of  the  gate,  into  an  enclosure  made  for  the 
purpose,  and  the  rebel  surgeons  wrould  pre 
scribe  for  them,  and  also  admit  a  few  to  the 
hospital.  Then,  whatever  their  sufferings 
might  be,  tV  >  must  go  nearly  all  the  day 
long  with  nothing  to  alleviate  them,  but  wre 
might  consider  it  good  fortune  if,  even  then, 


148  'LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

any  soothing  draught  could  be  obtained  where 
with  to  ease  the  pain  which  was  often  times 
intense,  from  the  aggravated  form  which 
disease  would  almost  necessarily  take  under 
such  a  regime  as  we  were  all  subject  to. 

The  cheerful  sunshine  came  to  bless  us  at 
length.  The  twenty-third  was  a  warm,  bright 
day,  and  three  hundred  more  prisoners  marked 
their  entrance  into  prison  then;  not  a  very 
desirable  era  in  their  history,  as  they  will 
soon  find  out,  we  thought.  They  were  from 
the  2d  corps,  and  were  captured  at  Peters 
burg,  Ya.,  about  a  week  before.  They  reported 
our  forces  close  upon  that  city  then,  and 
we  fancied  it  already  ours ; — yes  !  ours,  for 
did  we  not  still  belong  to  the  hopeful  Union, 
and  were  not  her  victories  ours  also  ?  We 
were  identified  with  our  country's  struggle  in 
a  peculiar  sense,  and  her  prosperity  was  never 
dearer  to  us  than  then.  It  gave  us  courage 
to  hear  from  them  that  Grant's  army  was  in 
excellent  condition,  and  constantly  receiving 
reinforcements.  Hope  was  slightly  confirmed, 
also,  by  the  assertion  that  a  copy  of  the  New 
York  Herald  was  in  circulation  through  the 


LIFE   IN   REBEL    PRISONS.  149 

prison,  in  which  it  was  stated  that  "  exchange " 
was  to  commence  on  the  7th  of  the  coming 
July,  and  that  transports  had  already  left  that 
city  for  Savannah,  with  that  end  in  view.  We 
longed  to  know  if  it  was  really  so,  for  the 
suspense  we  were  in  was  terrible,  and  this, 
combined  with  the  actual  privation  we  were 
constantly  enduring,  made  the  days  seem 
insufferably  long.  That  night  we  had  no 
bacon  with  our  rations  at  all, — nothing  but  a 
pint  and  a  half  of  corn  meal,  and  a  little  salt, 
for  twenty-four  hours.  Many  of  the  men 
wTould  ^eat  up  what  they  received  at  a  single 
meal,  and  then  go  hungry  until  the  next  issue. 
The  morning  following  this,  we  had  some 
fresh  meat,  from  which  the  orderly  and  myself 
made  a  pretty  good  soup.  That  which  came 
to  our  part  of  the  detachment  wras  very  good, 
but  much  of  it  was  miserable,  being  badly 
tainted  and  full  of  maggots. 

During  the  day,  notice  was  given  to  all  pris 
oners,  who  had  their  money  and  valuables 
taken  from  them  at  Eichmond,  to  send  in  their 
names  with  the  amount  of  their  loss,  to  Gen. 
Winder,  and  he  would  settle  with  them.  We 


150  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

assigned  it  just  about  the  same  place  in  our 
belief  that  we  did  many  other  things  they 
said,  supposing,  of  course,  that  it  would 
amount  to  nothing,  or  at  least  nothing  more 
than  an  order  upon  the  rebel  sutler,  which 
was  equivalent  to  the  same,  at  the  prices  he 
charged  for  every  thing. 

In  conjunction  with  this  came  another  hum 
bug.  The  rebel  regiments  about  us,  it  was 
said,  had  an  order  read  to  them  at  dress 
parade,  announcing  to  them  that  in  about 
three  weeks  they  would  be  allowed  a  fur 
lough,  as  the  prisoners  were  to  be  sent  away. 
It  would  have  been  a  most  agreeable  truth, 
but  unhappily  there  was  none  of  that  virtue 
about  it,  and  it  was  perpetrated  for  reasons 
best  known  to  our  enemies  themselves. 

The  weather  was  getting  very  warm,  and  to 
preclude  the  necessity  of  toiling  and  sweating 
in  the  hot  sunshine,  we  adopted  the  plan  of 
rising  before  sunrise,  to  cook  our  scanty 
breakfast,  and  we  found  it  to  add  materially 
to  our  comfort.  We  could  but  think  of  our 
comrades  in  the  Union  army,  who  were 
marching  and  fighting  in  the  intense  heat. 


LIFE   IN   REBEL    PRISONS.  151 

"God  grant  them  victory!"  was  our  hearty 
prayer. 

General  Sturgis'  ill-fated  raiding  party  still 
continued  to  furnish  small  additions  to  our 
number. 

According  to  the  reports  they  brought,  it 
seemed  that  opposing  forces  sometimes  came 
very  near  each  other.  Forrest  had  been 
within  one  mile  of  our  pickets  at  Memphis, 
and  captured  many  prisoners,  and  these  had 
been  re-captured  by  a  force  sent  out  by  our 
officers  to  repulse  them.  We  could  certainly 
congratulate  the  rescued.  At  this  time  I 
received  a  letter  from  Adjutant  Clapp,  who 
was  a  prisoner  at  Macon,  from  which  I  learned 
that  five  generals,  eleven  colonels,  twenty-five 
lieutenant-colonels,  and  nine  majors — fifty  in 
all — had  been  sent  away  from  that  place  for 
exchange.  Lieut.  Col.  Burnham,  of  our  owii 
regiment,  was  among  the  fortunate  number. 

Plainly  the  hour  of  our  release  had  not  come, 
and  we  must  content  ourselves  as  well  as  we 
could  under  rebel  jurisdiction,  until  such  time 
as  we  could  hail  the  promised  day  of  jubilee. 
Meanwhile,  I  must  studiously  consult  duty  and 


152  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

interest,  in  no  wise  neglecting  the  former  to 
secure  the  latter,  unless  I  wished  my  life  to 
pay  the  forfeit. 

It  again  came  my  turn  to  go  out  with  the 
squad  after  wood.  We  obtained  our  scanty 
supply,  and  were  on  our  way  back  to  prison, 
when  we  stopped  for  a  few  moments  to  rest. 
I  improved  the  opportunity  to  dig  all  the  red 
root  that  I  could,  as  it  was  a  valuable  remedy 
for  diarrhea,  which  was  distressingly  prevalent 
in  camp.  The  sergeant  in  charge  of  the  guard 
was  rather  cross  and  surly,  and  allowed  us  but 
a  little  time  to  get  breath,  and  then  ordered 
us  on  again.  In  my  haste  I  left  my  knife 
upon  the  ground,  and  did  not  discover  my  loss 
until  I  was  nearly  back  to  the  stockade.  The 
sergeant  then  refused  to  let  me  return  for  it. 
I  was  just  giving  it  up  for  lost,  when  Captain 
Wirz  came  riding  along,  and  as  a  last  resort  I 
appealed  to  him.  For  a  wonder  he  told  me  to 
go  with  him,  and,  walking  his  horse,  he  went 
with  me  to  the  spot  where  I  had  used  the 
knife,  and  thus  I  recovered  it.  If  I  had  failed 
to  find  it,  he  would  have  doubtless  thought  I 
was  guilty  of  deception,  and  shot  me  through 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  153 

without  any  remorse  whatever.  As  we 
went  back  toward  the  prison-gate,  we  met 
other  squads  of  prisoners  going  after  wood, 
under  guard,  and  seeing  me  in  company  with 
the  "Old  Dutchman"  they  supposed  I  had 
been  captured  in  an  attempt  to  escape,  and 
consequently  had  a  great  many  jokes  at  my 
expense.  The  captain,  noticing  this,  remarked 
to  me,  "They  links  you  have  pe?i  up  to  some 
tevilment"  The  next  day  when  the  squad 
was  called  for  again  to  go  out  after  wood,  no 
one  wished  to  go,  and  I  concluded  to  try  it 
once  more,  though  my  feet  were  pretty  sore. 

While  we  were  waiting  at  the  gate  to  let 
the  dignitaries  pass  us  through,  there  came  up 
a  thunder-storm,  and  as  a  matter  of  course  we 
received  a  thorough  drenching.  We  were  not 
to  be  intimidated  by  this,  however,  and  w:ent 
on,  finding  it  all  the  more  pleasant  in  the 
woods  because  of  it.  Our  guard  this  time 
were  very  accommodating,  and  wre  had  a  right 
good  time  among  the  trees  and  flowers.  While 
we  were  out,  six  or  seven  hundred  prisoners 
from  Grant's  army  entered  the  prison,  and 
about  the  same  number  had  been  introduced 


154  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

the  day  before.  The  last  ones  had  been  treat 
ed  with  the  greatest  severity  at  Richmond. 
They  had  been  stripped  and  searched,  and  at 
length  turned  in  upon  us  with  almost  nothing 
for  their  comfort. 

The  days  now  when  prisoners  did  not  come 
in  were  exceptions.  About  three  hundred  and 
fifty  came  on  the  29th,  mostly  from  Western 
Virginia,  and  they  brought  us  some  good 
tidings.  They  informed  us  that  Gen.  Pope 
entered  Lynchburg  wrhile  Gen.  Hunter  had 
drawn  away  the  enemy's  forces  by  a  feigned 
retreat,  and  that  he  had  destroyed  the  im 
mense  tobacco  warehouses  in  the  city,  and 
also  the  large  bridge  over  the  James  river  at 
that  point,  although  he  failed  to  hold  the 
place. 

One  of  the  men  told  me  that  he  bought  a 
paper  on  his  way,  which  stated  that  the  ex 
change  of  prisoners  would  commence  on  the 
7th  of  the  following  month.  As  this  coincided 
in  every  respect  with  a  previous  report,  we 
could  not  but  think  it  had  some  foundation. 
Surely  anything  that  would  appear  twice  alike 
must  mean  something. 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  155 

These ~new  comers  afforded  the  "raiders"  or 

X 

camp-robbers,  fresh  opportunities  to  continue 
their  work.  They  seized  upon  one  of  these, 
and  it  was  soon  seen  that  it  was 

A   ROBBERY 

in  earnest.  After  severely  beating  and  cut 
ting  his  head,  they  took  from  him  his  watch 
and  $175  in  money.  He  entered  a  complaint 
to  Captain  Wizz,  and  the  whole  camp  being 
completely  aroused,  a  crowd  collected,  armed 
with  clubs,  wrho  began  to  arrest  the  gang  as 
fast  as  possible.  As  soon  as  one  was  caught, 
he  was  handed  outside  to  the  care  of  the 
rebels,  who  were  to  watch  over  them  until 
they  could  be  tried  by  our  men.  A  few, 
against  whom  positive  proof  could  not  at  once 
be  brought,  were  sent  into  prison  again,  where 
they  had  to  run  the  gauntlet  between  a  long 
line  of  enraged  men,  who,  armed  with  heavy 
clubs,  dealt  blows  at  the  miscreants  as  they 
ran  past. 

One  man  was  killed  while  undergoing  the 
punishment.  About  fifty  of  the  band  were 
caught,  and  the  prospect  was  good  that  the 


156  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

infernal  proceedings  which  had  so  long  been 
continued  would  come  to  an  end. 

All  through  the  next  day  they  were  hunted 
with  great  success.  The  Rebel  Quartermaster, 
rebel  sergeants  and  guard,  went  into  the 
prison,  and,  piloted  by  a  notorious  character 
known  as  "Limber  Jim"  and  his  comrades, 
they  soon  ferreted  out  the  infamous  scoun 
drels.  They  were  taken  outside,  where  they 
were  to  be  tried  by  a  jury  of  twelve  men 
selected  from  the  newly  arrived,  who  of  course 
would  know  the  least  about  them,  and  would 
therefore  be  more  impartial  in  rendering  the 
verdict.  Beneath  their  tents  were  found 
knives,  pistols,  watches,  money,  &c.,  and  it  is 
said  that  buried  beneath  one  tent  was  the 
body  of  a  man  who  was  supposed  to  have 
been  murdered  by  them. 

It  was  a  day  of  great  excitement,  and  one 
which  we  thought  would  place  an  effectual 
barrier  against  such  operations  in  the  future. 

Fourteen  prisoners  came  in  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  day,  and  among  them  was  James  Mar 
tin,  of  our  regiment,  whom  we  all  supposed  to 
be  dead.  His  appearance  created  quite  a  sen- 


LIFE    IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  157 

sation,  and  we  gave  him  a  hearty  welcome  to 
our  hearts,  if  not  to  the  prison. 

He  was  wounded  on  the  skirmish  line  at 
Plymouth,  on  the  second  night  of  the  attack, 
and  was  then  taken  prisoner  and  conveyed  to 
"Wilson  C.  H.,  North  Carolina,  where  he  was 
treated  with  the  utmost  kindness,  so  that  he 
became  quite  well. 

While  the  surgeons  were  attending  to  our 
sick  at  this  time,  they  were  suddenly  ordered 
off,  and  left  in  a  hurry  without  much  cere 
mony.  We  conjectured  that  there  might  be 
special  need  of  their  services  at  Atlanta,  and 
that  this  was  the  cause  of  their  hasty  de 
parture. 

On  the  first  day  of  July,  the 

ADDITION   TO    THE   STOCKADE 

was  completed  and  opened  for  the  reception 
of  the  prisoners.  All  detachments,  above  forty- 
eight  in  number,  were  ordered  to  be  inside  of 
it  in  two  hours,  and  failing  to  do  this,  their 
blankets,  &c.,  would  be  confiscated.  This, 
then,  was  the  alternative, — thirteen  thousand 
men  must  crowd  through  an  opening  about 


158  LIFE   IN  REBEL   PRISONS. 

ten  feet  wide,  in  two  hours,  or  lose  all  their 
little  property  which  was  so  very  precious  to 
them  there.  There  was  a  perfect  stampede 
towards  the  open  place,  and  the  camp,  gener 
ally,  presented  a  very  animated  scene.  We 
grew  "beautifully  less"  in  a  short  time,  leaving 
us  a  larger  space  in  which  to  move  and 
breathe,  than  we  had  known  for  a  considerable 
period. 

Our  own  regiment  was  to  retain  its  position 
as  before.  During  the  night  the  part  of  the 
old  stockade  left  standing  between  us  and  the 
new,*wras  visited  by  an  extensive  "raiding" 
party,  the  men  from  all  parts  of  the  prison 
working  until  nearly  morning  in  pulling  down 
and  carrying  it  off  for  fuel,  so  that  at  day 
light  but  a  very  small  portion  of  it  was  left 
standing.  Then  came  the  rumor  that  Capt. 
Wirz  had  ordered  that  no  more  rations  should 
be  issued  until  the  timber  was  replaced, 
but  such  orders  we  received  with  the  same 
coolness  as  usual.  The  day  was  filled  with 
more  or  less  excitement  on  account  of  the 
reports  concerning  "exchange"  which  were 
flying  through  the  camp.  The  date  fixed 


LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  159 

upon  was  the  7th  of  the  month,  and  as  this 
was  the  same  we  had  heard  mentioned  at  two 
different  times,  and  upon  separate  occasions, 
before,  we  thought  it  might  be  possible  that 
it  had  a  truthful  foundation.  We  heard,  too, 
that  the  people  of  the  North  were  greatly 
aroused  in  regard  to  the  subject,  and  were 
holding  indignation  meetings,  and  petitioning 
Congress  to  interpose  in  our  behalf.  If  this 
wrere  true,  we  hoped  for  good  results  to  accrue, 
and  therefore  looked  with  some  solicitude  to 
the  approaching  day.  The  intervening  time 
was  short,  and  hope,  and  sometimes  fear,  was 
in  the  ascendant,  lest  the  story  should  prove 
a  fiction,  and  we  be  still  left  uin  the  storm." 
We  could  only  bring  ourselves  to  meet  it,  if 
it  should  be,  and 

"  With  a  heart  for  any  fate, 
Still  achieving,  still  pursuing, 
Learn  to  labor  and  to  wait." 

The  latter  grace,  particularly,  it  seemed  we 
might  gain  to  perfection,  if  we  were  apt  pupils 
at  all.  We  were  realizing  the  vision  of  the 
2)oet,  in  more  than  one  respect,  for  we  were 
leaving  "footprints"  not  only  upon  "the  sands 
of  time"  but  perchance  upon  other  and  more 


160  LIFE   IN    REBEL    PRISONS. 

enduring  material.  Our  imprisonment  had  a 
purpose  to  accomplish,  and  the  part  it  Avould 
perform  in  future  history  might  do  more  than 
we  could  imagine.  Thus  we  might  sublimely 
theorize,  but  our  painful  experience  would  still 
thrust  itself  upon  us,  and  make  our  desires 
strong  and  earnest  for  the  fulfillment  of  our 
hopes  that  had  been  newly  awakened. 

The  first  Sabbath  of  the  month  came  on 
the  third,  and  we  thought  of  our  friends  at 
home  gathering  around  the  sacramental  table, 
and  we  longed  to  be  there,  to  enjoy  with  them 
the  blessed  feast,  and  the  communion  of  kin 
dred  spirits,  but  we  knew  we  were  not  forgot 
ten  ;  that,  though  absent,  there  were  many 
who  would  send  us  a  wish  and  a  thought, 
and  that  in  prayers  which  would  wing  their  way 
upward  the  soldier  and  the  friend  would  have 
a  place. 

Life  in  camp  certainly  needed  grace,  in 
measures  "large  and  free,"  to  keep  the  spirit 
quiet,  for  externally  there  was  but  little  to 
calm  the  mind  and  stay  its  restless  surges. 
Through  this  Sabbath  there  was  a  great  deal 
of  confusion,  among  the  prisoners  composing 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  161 

the  newly  arrived  detachments,  and  it  took 
almost  the  entire  day  to  get  things  into  a 
condition  of  tolerable  order.  Boll-call  was 
resumed  throughout  the  entire  prison,  and  no 
rations  at  all  issued  in  all  the  long  hours,  so 
that  we  laid  down  to  our  rest  at  night,  the 
helpless  victims  of  hunger.  We  thought  a 
corresponding  prison-life  might  be  a  good 
reform  school  for  some  of  the  Southern  Se 
cessionists;  they  would  be  so  struck  with  the 
amount  of  sympathy  displayed  by  their 
"numerousbrethren;"  their  "wayward  sisters." 
Monday  brought  "'the  glorious  fourth." 
One  year  before,  it  had  found  us  up  the  Penin 
sula,  about  eighteen  miles  from  Richmond. 
Little  did  we  dream  that  its  next  anniversary 
would  find  us  in  such  a  predicament,  but  there 
we  were,  and  we  must  make  the  best  of  it. 
We  wondered  what  was  being  done ;  if  Rich 
mond  was  ours,  and  with  it  Lee's  army,  or  if 
we  were  to  fight  longer  for  the  prize.  The 
"rebs"  were  busy  all  day  in  re-numbering  the 
detachments,  preparatory  to  a  parole,  it  was 
said.  Our  number  was  changed  from  forty- 
three  to  ninety-five,  and  we  had  numberless 


162  LIFE  IN   EEBEL   PRISONS. 

secret  questionings  as  to  what  effect  it  would 
have  upon  our  destiny,  if  exchange  should 
really  be  determined  upon.  I  wished  to  keep 
fast  hold  of  my  confidence  in  the  government,, 
although  the  faith  of  many  was  growing 
weak.  Reason  asserted  that  there  must 
be  some  satisfactory  why  that  we  were  not 
exchanged,  for  surely  we  would  not  be  left  to 
die  of  gradual  starvation,  month  after  month, 
without  it  were  so.  I  saw  a  man  in  the 
morning  who  was  completely  discouraged, 
and,  really,  he  seemed  partially  insane.  He 
refused  to  eat  what  little  was  given  him,  and 
declared  that  he  was  going  to  die  in  that  way. 
"You  will  not  have  to  try  very  hard"  I  said  to 
myself,  as  I  gazed  upon  his  pallid  face  and 
emaciated  form.  It  seemed  that  all  must 
meet  a  similar  fate,  unless  there  should  be 
some  change,  for  the  material  for  food  that  we 
had  just  received  was  raw,  and  we  had  no 
means  whatever  of  cooking  anything  then, 
as  wood  was  wanting.  Notwithstanding  our 
cheerless  condition,  some  were  inclined  to 
show  some  remembrance  of  the  day.  One  of 
the  boys  had  a  few  percussion  caps,  and  by 


LIFE   IN    KEBEL   PRISONS.  163 

snapping  these  with  a  fragment  of  'brick  and 
a  tenpenny  nail,  we  had  a  miniature  celebra 
tion,  the  oration  and  refreshments  being  indefi 
nitely  postponed.  It  might  be  that  at  home 
they  were  firing  cannon  over  some  victory 
that  we  knew  nothing  about;  perhaps  pub 
licly  eulogizing  some  General  who  had  sud 
denly  won  immortal  fame  by  some  brilliant 
achievement,  and  thus  fostering  national  pride. 
We  hoped  it  were  so,  for  loyalty  had  not 
been  starved  out  of  us  altogether,  and  we 
could  rejoice  in  the  country's  prosperity  even 
there. 

It  was  not  very  warm  just  at  this  time,  but 
we  had  a  great  deal  of  sickness.  The  Cath 
olic  priest  was  in  almost  daily,  visiting  the 
sick  of  his  own  order,  and  giving  a  word  of 
good  counsel  to  all.  He  was  untiring  in  his 
administration  of  the  rites  and  consolations  of 
the  Romish  church  to  sick  and  dying  Catho 
lics.  Clergymen  of  orthodox  denominations  I 
thought  would  do  well  to  imitate  his  example 
in  faithfulness  and  kindness  to  the  dying 
soldier.  We  sometimes  tried  to  draw  out 
from  him  some  information  of  matters  in  the 


164  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

world  outside,  but  we  could  seldom  gain  any 
thing,  as  he  was  not  allowed  to  make  any 
communications  to  the  prisoners  under  pen 
alty  of  being  forbidden  admission  to  the 
prison. 

Evenings  called  together  a  circle  for  prayer, 
and  we  had  some  good  seasons  in  letting  faith 
rise  into  a  "serener  atmosphere"  and  who 
shall  tell  how  richly  freighted  with  blessing 
were  those  evening  breezes  to  the  waiting 
souls ;  who  tell  of  the  heavenly  whisperings  ? 
since 

"  More  things  are  wrought  by  prayer^ 
Than  this  world  dreams  of." 

It  was  understood  at  this  time  that  it  would 
become  a  permanent  institution,  and  that 
every  return  of  the  twilight  hour,  would 
bring  the  praying  band  together  in  some  part 
of  the  camp. 

On  the  6th  our  number  was  increased  by 
three  or  four  hundred  from  Danville,  Ya.,  who 
had  been  captured  in  an  attempt  to  destroy 
the  railroad.  They  tore  it  up  for  a  distance  of 
thirty  miles  before  they  were  obliged  to  dis 
continue  their  labors  by  rebel  interference. 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  165 

They  told  us  that  Gen.  Speare  was  there  with 
his  cavalry  brigade,  and  we  counted  upon 
something  being  done,  since  he  never  did 
things  by  halves.  They  all  agreed  in  saying 
that  Kichmond  was  completely  surrounded, 
and  that  everything  was  working  well,  the 
fighting  continuing  day  and  night,  worse,  if 
anything,  during  the  latter  season,  than  in  the 
day.  We  set  this  down  as  good  and  reliable, 
and  hoped  accordingly. 

We  concluded  the  day  with  another  interest 
ing  meeting  by  the  brook-side,  near  our  quar 
ters,  and  we  could  but  think  it  would  have  some 
good  effect.  The  boys  seemed  more  willing 
than  ever  to  "hear  the  word"  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  Recording  Angel  carried  some 
good  news  to  the  upper  world  that  night, 
respecting  some  poor  soul  in  that  little  assem- 

bly. 

The  day  so  long  before  fixed  upon  for  the 
commencement  of  the  work  of  exchange,  at 
length  dawned  upon  us,  and  each  hour  found 
us  anxiously  awaiting  the  revelations  of  the 
next.  We  watched  for  the  moments  to  be 
"big  with  blessing"  but  they  did  not  come. 


166  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

Nothing  unusual  marked  any  part  of  the  day, 
and  at  night  one  might  have  looked  in  upon 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  disappointed  ones. 
Many  had  firmly  believed  it  for  a  long  time. 
They  had  confidently  expected  that  it  would 
be  the  date  of  their  release.  It  was  a  release 
from  earth  to  one  of  our  regiment.  J.  Hoskins 
closed  his  eyes  upon  all  that  was  mortal  that 
day,  and  the  mysterioaj  fingers  of  death  were 
busy  in  severing  the  cord  that  bound  several 
others  to  life.  I  then  wished  that  the  President, 
under  whose  banner  we  had  fought,  could  look 
in  upon  our  sufferings,  for  surely  the  sight 
would  move  him  to  help  us,  if  any  thing  could 
be  done.  Live  zvorms  crawled  upon  the  bacon 
that  was  given  us  to  eat.  ult  is  all  right"  we 
said ;  "  we  are  nothing  but  Yankee  prisoners,  or, 
as  the  rebels  usually  speak  of  us,  "damned 
Yankees" 

A  party  of  three  hundred  more  took  up 
their  permanent  abode  with  us  on  the  8th. 
One  hundred  and  twenty-five  were  from 
James  Island  near  Charleston,  and  the  re 
mainder  from  Petersburg,  Va.  Those  from 
the  former  place  were  captured  in  a  miserably 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  1C  7 

sustained  attack  upon  it,  led  by  Gen.  Davis. 
Five  of  the  forty  boats  that  were  to  land  their 
forces,  they  say,  had  touched  the  shore,  when 
a  fire  of  grape  and  canister  sent  terror  to  the 
hearts  of  the  rest,  who  beat  a  hasty  and  cow 
ardly  retreat,  leaving  their  General  and  the 
men  who  had  already  landed  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  our  enemies,  and  theirs.  The  follow 
ing  day,  four  hundred  more  names  were  en 
tered  on  the  roll-call.  These,  too,  came  from 
the  vicinity  of  Petersburg,  having  been  all 
the  while  since  the  27th  of  June  in  reaching 
us.  Some  of  our  old  friends  in  Spear's  Cavalry 
were  in  the  crowd,  to  begin  their  experience 
of  the  horrors  of  rebel  administration. 

Almost  every  day  brought  something  to 
excite  fresh  disgust.  A  short  time  after  the 
opening  of  the  new  apartment,  I  took  a  stroll 
over  to  its  ground,  and  had  a  look  at  some  of 
the  new  wells  that  were  being  dug  there. 
One  of  them  had  been  sunk  to  the  depth  of 
sixty-five  feet,  and  still  lacked  completion.  It 
was  very  difficult  to  obtain  water  in  this  man 
ner,  and  the  great  mass  of  the  prisoners  had 
to  depend  for  their  supply  on  the  little  brook 


168  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

which  ran  through  the  prison,  and  which  a 
great  part  of  the  time  was  compklcly  covered 
with  floating  grease  and  offal  from  the  cook-house, 
which  was  situated  just  outside  the  stockade. 
Of  course  nothing  but  stern  necessity  would 
have  made  them  willing  ever  to  have  touched 
their  lips  to  such  a  forbidding,  mixture.  How 
grateful  then  would  have  been  the  clear  water 
of  some  bubbling  spring  from  the  Northern 
hill-sides !  How  refreshing  would  have  been 
a  draught  from  some  "old  oaken  bucket"  in  a 
"moss-covered  well"  whose  sparkling  depths  had 
not  been  stirred  by  unclean  hands  !  It  would 
have  seemed  like  a  "God-send"  to  many  a 
weary  prisoner,  especially  to  the  thirsty,  fever- 
stricken  invalids.  The  suffering  occasioned  by 
lack  in  this  respect  can  be  seen  in  the  follow 
ing  instance,  which  was  only  one  of  many. 
One  morning  the  Eebel  authorities  issued  an 
order  to  the  effect  that  all  who  were  too  sick 
to  walk  should  be  carried  outside  the  prison- 
gate  by  their  comrades.  Such  a  great  number 
went  up  that  they  were  not  all  allowed  to  go 
out,  and  those  who  did  were  left  nearly  all  day 
in  the  burning  hot  sun,  before  they  were  conveyed 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  169 

to  the  hospital,  without  a  drop  of  ivater.  We 
were  told  upon  good  authority,  that  about  thirty 
of  them  died  while  lying  there  in  that  wretched  * 
condition.  What  might  not  pure,  cold  water 
have  done  for  some  of  them  ?  It  was  only  a 
specimen  of  the  utter  heartlessness  of  our 
foes.  We  felt  that  we  would  be  glad  if  the 
suffering  could  be  limited  to  those  already  in, 
instead  of  having  it  constantly  augmented  by 
new  arrivals;  but  there  seemed  no  prospect  of 
an  end)  for  the  army  at  Petersburg  were  again 
diminished  by  eleven  hundred,  while  ours  in 
creased  correspondingly.  These  men  had  to 
march  eighty  miles,  in  consequence  of  the  de 
struction  of  the  railroads  by  our  raiding  parties. 
This  looked  like  operating  somewhat  unfavor 
ably  upon  Gen,  Lee's  communications. 

i 

Sickness,  now,  was  rapidly  increasing.  Many 
of  the  boys  had  been  obliged  to  give  up  and 
go  to  the  hospital.  Uncooked,  rations,  without 
salt  or  wood  to  cook  them  with,  were  the  order  of  i 
the  day.  Hearing  that  Hitchcock  of  Co.  C  in 
our  regiment,  was  sick,  I  went  over  to  see 
him.  He  was  almost  gone.  Not  many  hours 
after,  he  went  to  his  long  home,  where  no 


170  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

rebel  could  trouble  him  any  more.  He  was  a 
quiet,  good  boy,  and,  we  believe,  ready  for  his 
*  summons  to  depart.  Thus,  another  of  our 
number  has  ended  his  marches  and  conflicts, 
his  trials  and  sorrows. 

Strangely  different  scenes  often  follow  each 
other  in  prison,  and  it  was  so  at  this  time.  The 
12th  was  a  day  of  unusual  excitement. 

A    GALLOWS 

had  been  erected  on  the  south  side  of  the 
prison,  and  it  was  said  that  half  a  dozen  of 
the  camp-robber 'S,  who  had  been  tried  and  found 
guilty,  were  to  be  hung.  At  half-past  four  in 
the  afternoon,  Capt.  Wirz  came  in  with  the  six, 
under  a  rebel  guard,  and  turned  them  over  to 
the  Police,  or  Vigilance  Committee.  They 
had  been  convicted  of  murder  and  robbery,  and 
were  sentenced  to  be  hung  until  they  were  dead. 

Upon  giving  them  up  for  punishment,  he 
made  the  following  remarks:  " These  men 
have  been  tried  and  convicted  by  their  own 
fellows,  and  I  now  return  them  to  you  in  as 
good  condition  as  I  received  them.  You  can 
now  do  with  them  as  your  reason,  justice,  and 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  171 

mercy  dictates.     And  may  God  protect  both 
you  and  them." 

The  Catholic  priest  begged  hard  that  their 
lives  might  be  spared,  but  finding  himself  un 
successful  in  this,  he  turned  his  attention  to 
their  spiritual  condition,  and  spent  a  season  in 
prayer  for  them.  They  themselves  seemed 
strangely  unconcerned,  apparently  thinking  it 
was  simply  an  affair  got  up  thoroughly  to 
frighten  them,  and  they  appeared  to  cling  to 
the  idea,  even  until  they  had  ascended  the 
platform  erected  for  their  execution.  As  they 
were  about  mounting  the  scaffold,  one  of  them 
broke  from  the  men  who  were  holding  him, 
and  ran  through  the  crowd,  across  the  swamp, 
to  the  opposite  hill-side,  as  if  by  one  desperate 
effort  he  would  escape  his  fearful  doom,  that 
began  to  take  on  the  semblance  of  reality. 
He  was  captured,  however,  and  led  back;  and 
as  he  was  securely  placed  with  the  other  five, 
such  forlorn  wretchedness,  such  miserable  hopeless 
ness,  was  visible  in  his  countenance,  as  is  im 
possible  to  describe.  Opportunity  was  given 
them  to  speak,  if  they  had  any  thing  they 
wished  to  say.  They  said  a  few  words,  bidding 


172  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

their  comrades  take  warning  by  their  fate. 
One,  mindful  of  his  relatives  in  this  last  hour, 
wished  a  friend  to  call  upon  them  in  New 
York  City,  if  he  should  live  to  get  home. 
These  words  ended,  meal-sacks  were  drawn 
over  their  heads,  the  fatal  ropes  were  adjusted, 
and  as  the  drop  fell,  the  rope  around  the  neck 
of  the  leader  of  the  gang  broke,  thus  setting  him 
free.  He  was  at  once  taken  up,  had  it  re-ad 
justed,  and  was  pushed  off;  the  whole  six  were 
thus  suddenly  launched  into  the  eternal  world. 
It  was  a  sad  spectacle  to  see  their  bodies 
swinging  in  the  air,  but  we  felt  it  to  be  just, 
and  another  illustration  of  the  truth,  that 
"The  way  of  transgressors  is  hard." 

Their  depredations  had  been  carried  on  so 
.  long,  and  with  such  a  bold  hand ;  they  had 
become  so  reckless  of  human  life  and  prop 
erty,  it  was  necessary  that  an  example  should 
be  made  of  them  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  a 
lasting  impression  upon  all  those  who  should 
be  similarly  inclined.  Prisoners  were  coming 
in  every  day.  Of  course  the  crowd  comprised 
all  classes  and  dispositions,  and  it  was  desirable 
to  have  some  system  of  law  and  order  that 


LIFE  IN   REBEL  PRISONS.  175 

The  knowledge  of  such  a  fact  would,  at 
least,  inspire  the  newly-arrived  with  something 
of  wholesome  fear,  and  the  general  tendency 
would  be  to  keep  in  check  a  like  outburst. 
Although  the  "raging  element"  had  been  com 
paratively  small,  it  had  been  productive  of 
most  unhappy  consequences,  and  we  longed 
to  have  it  shorn  of  its  power,  and  severe 
measures  were  alone  requisite  for  its  accom 
plishment. 

Five  or  six  hundred  came  from  Petersburg 
before  the  day  closed. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

NEW     "  TUNNELS." 

ABOUT  this  time  the  influx  of  prisoners  was 
rapid  and  great.  Six  or  seven  hundred  came 
in  on  the  morning  of  the  12th.  They  brought 
us  information  that  we  could  hardly  credit: — 
that  the  remnant  of  our  regiment  was  consol 
idated  with  the  6th  and  7th  Conn.  Volunteers, 
and  were  in  the  front  at  Petersburg.  It  might 


176  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

be  true,  but  of  one  thing  we  were  certain, 
that  we  were  still  condemned  to  mush  and 
meat,  and  it  kept  the  idea  of  escape  in  con- 
vstant  agitation.  Having  made  the  acquaint 
ance  of  Sergt.  Maj.  C ,  who  was  interested 

in  the  subject,  I  finally  decided  to  try  "tun 
neling"  again,  in  company  with  him,  II.  P — , 
and  others.  I  had  very  little  hope  of  success, 
however,  since  we  had  been  baffled  in  so 
many  attempts,  but  I  called  upon  Jack  F—  — , 
an  old  and  experienced  hand  in  the  business, 
and  received  so  much  good  advice,  I  felt 
encouraged  to  go  on,  when  the  favorable  time 
for  working  should  appear.  This  was  not  at 
all  hours,  as  has  been  seen.  Meantime,  the 
usual  routine  was  to  be  observed  with  the 
same  calmness  as  ever.  The  meeting  at  even 
ing  was  upon  our  side  of  the  prison,  and  con 
ducted  by  Sergt.  Card,  of  the  19th  Regular 
Infantry.  It  was  an  interesting  season,  and 
at  its  close,  it  being  very  pleasant,  several  of 
us  prolonged  our  conversation  until  nearly 
midnight,  rehearsing  scenes  and  stories  of  the 
past,  which  came  before  us  pleasantly  and 
vividly. 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  177 

We  awoke  early  on  the  following  morning, 
and  went  to  work  with  the  rest  of  the  boys 
to  build  a  mud  stove,  our  old  one  having 
been  destroyed  by  digging  under  it  for  roots 
to  burn.  When  we  completed  it,  it  was  a  per 
fect  model  in  appearance,  and  attracted  a  great 
deal  of  attention.  We  only  hoped  that,  for 
the  sake  of  comfort,  it  might  be  as  fair  in  its 
operations  as  in  its  looks.  Great  news  was 
in  circulation  that  morning.  The  pirate  "Ala 
bama,"  it  was  said,  was  sunk  by  three  of  our 
steamers,  and  we  were  told,  also,  that  Gen. 
Lee  had  again  invaded  Maryland  with  his 
army.  Various  things  seemed  to  exist  to 
cause  unwonted  excitement.  The  Sergeants 
in  charge  of  messes  were  all  ordered  outside, 
in  obedience  to  orders  from  Capt.  Wirz,  who 
informed  them  that  he  had  discovered  an 
organized  body  of  six  thousand  men  who  had 
planned  a 

NEW    OUTBREAK, 

and  he  threatened  if  the  attempt  was  made,  to 
open  with  his  artillery  upon  the  prison,  and 
"fire  as  long  as  there  was  a  man  kicking." 

Somebody  had  humbugged  him  in  fine  style, 
8 


178  LIFE   IN   REBEL  PRISONS. 

for  no  such  thing  was  in  contemplation,  much 
less  in  process  of  working. 

A  little  later  in  the  day  we  were  a  little 
excited  by  hearing  the  rifled  pieces,  bearing 
on  the  prison,  very  suddenly  discharged. 
They  were  loaded  with  blank  cartridges,  as  it 
proved,  and  no  damage  was  done.  Immedi 
ately  following  these  discharges,  a  great  com 
motion  was  visible  in  the  rebel  camps.  The 
regiments  fell  in  at  the  double  quick,  and 
formed  in  line  of  battle  around  the  stockade. 
All  the  pieces  of  artillery  were  manned,  and 
we  thought  our  forces  must  surely  be  in  the 
vicinity,  but  such  hopes  were,  as  usual,  blasted, 
and  we  learned  that  it  was  merely  an  attempt 
on  the  part  of  the  Confederate  authorities  to 
see  how  quick  they  could  get  their  troops  out 
in  case  we  really  should  try  to  force  the 
stockade.  Amid  it  all,  the  Captain  so  far 
softened  as  to  promise  that  we  might  go  out 
after  wood  under  guard,  at  the  same  time 
acknowledging  that  "he  knew  we  were  suffer 
ing  for  it"  He  spoke,  also,  of  our  President, 
as  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  the  course  of  his  remarks, 
and  we  thought  it  quite  an  improvement  on 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  179 

the  titles  with  which  he  had  been  wont  to 
designate  him.  The  next  day  our  forces  num 
bered  seventy  more,  who  had  been  captured 
near  Atlanta.  They  wrere  bearers  of  positive 
news,  to  the  effect  that  two  corps  of  Gen. 
Sherman's  army  had  crossed  the  Chattahoo- 
che*e  river,  and  that  Atlanta  itself,  and  John 
ston's  army,  were  in  a  tight  place.  Such  infor 
mation  we  were  always  glad  to  receive.  It 
greatly  encouraged  us.  There  was  a  prayer 
meeting  in  the  evening,  as  usual,  but  as  it  was 
the  time  for  the  newly  organized  company  to 
commence  the  tunnel  operation,  we  repaired 
to  the  spot,  but  circumstances  being  unfavora 
ble,  it  amounted  to  nothing,  and  the  prospect 
seemed  to  indicate  that  it  would  die  out  alto 
gether.  Probably  past  experience  was  not 
without  its  influence. 

Soon  after  roll-call,  on  the  morning  of  the 
16th,  a  rebel  Sergeant  came  in  with  an  order 
from  Capt.  Wirz,  for  the  Sergeant  of  our 
"ninety"  to  come  out  and  rectify  a  mistake 
which  had  been  made  in  the  roll  of  names. 

Sergt.  L being  on  the  other  side  of  the 

prison  with  his   brother,  I  went  out  in   his 


180  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

place  and  did  the  required  business.  On  my 
way  back  to  the  prison  from  the  Captain's 
office,  I  quietly  shouldered  a  pine  log,  which 
lay  invitingly  near  the  road-side,  and  carried 
it  in.  For  a  wonder,  the  rebel  officers  made 
no  objection  to  it,  and  we  really  exulted  in 
our  valuable  prize,  for  OUT  "ninety"  had  liad 
no  wood  given  them  by  the  "rebs"  since  the 
30th  of  June,  or  nearly  a  month,  and  uncooked 
rations  had  been  distributed  to  us  many  times. 
About  the  only  variety  we  had  in  those  days 
was  a  little  sorghum  molasses  with  our  corn 
meal.  Salt,  we  concluded,  was  a  scarce  article 
in  the  confederacy,  since  we  would  pass  four 
whole  days  in  succession  without  seeing  any. 
While  our  temporal  wants  were  thus  poorly 
supplied,  we  were  not  wholly  denied  spiritual 
food.  It  was  a  blessed  consolation  that  no 
earthly  foe  could  interrupt  our  communion 
with  the  heavenly  world.  He  who  visited 
Jacob  with  bright  visions,  as  he  lay  upon  his 
stony  pillow,  could  also  make  a  Bethel  for  us  in 
our  place  of  exile.  We  had  preaching.  Elder 
Shephard,  a  Sergeant  in  the  97th  Ohio  Eeg't, 
and  a  prisoner  with  us,  officiated.  Just  after 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  181 

one  of  our  quiet  sunsets,  we  gathered  together 
and  he  gave  us  a  splendid  discourse  upon  the 
text,  "Fight  the  good  fight  of  faith."  He 
drew  a  comparison  between  the  Christian  and 
the  soldier,  and  carried  it  through  in  an  admi 
rable  manner.  At  the  close  of  the  meeting 
four  came  forward  for  prayers — one  backslider, 
one  new  convert,  and  two  who  were  just  begin 
ning  to  feel  the  infinite  importance  of  eternal 
things,  and  their  relation  to  them.  How 
strange  it  seemed  to  be  enjoying  such  privi 
leges  in  so  terrible  a  place. 

The  18th  was  a  sad  day  for  us,  for  D , 

one  of  our  beloved  comrades,  died.  At  about 
five,  P.  M.  I  went  to  see  him,  and  found  him 
in  a  dying  state,  unconscious,  and  breathing 
very  hard.  I  spoke  to  him,  but  there  came  no 
response.  He  had  spoken  his  last  word  upon 
earth.  I  left  him  a  few  moments  to  finish 
cooking  my  scanty  meal,  and  on  my  return 
found  him  rapidly  sinking.  He  lingered  until 
about  sunset,  and  then  passed  away.  It  was 
a  touching  sight  to  look  upon;  the  sober, 
thoughtful  faces  of  the  few  comrades  who 
were  at  his  side  ;  the  blanket  thrown  back  to 


182  LIFE  IN    REBEL   PRISONS. 

admit  as  much  fresh  air  as  possible,  and  above 
all,  the  glazed  eyes  and  vacant  expression  of 
our  dead  brother.  Jackson,  of  Co.  B,  con 
ducted  a  short  service  over  the  body,  before  it 
was  carried  out  of  the  prison  gate.  A  chap 
ter  from  the  bible — a  prayer — and  the  funeral 
services  of  our  friend  were  over.  , 

Such  impressions,  however,  were  soon 
effaced,  by  the  new  and  exciting  topics  that 
were  continually  coming  up.  It  was  so  in 
this  case.  Rumors  began  to  be  in  circulation  of 
the  nearness  of  some  of  our  forces,  and  almost 
all  were  whispering,  "Something's  up."  The 
rebels  posted  their  men  about  the  prison,  as 
if  in  readiness  of  some  expected  attack. 
Simultaneous  with  this  came  up  an  exciting 
matter  among  the  prisoners  themselves.  Some 
of  them  started 

A  PETITION, 

urging  the  President,  and  Governors  of  States, 
to  procure  for  us  a  speedy  release,  either  by 
parole  or  exchange.  When  it  came  to  my 
knowledge,  I  had  a  talk  with  Sergt.  Lee  about 
it,  and  we  both  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it 
was  a  foolish  affair,  and  one  not  calculated  to 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  183 

effect  anything  in  getting  us  out;  while,  at 
the  same  time,  it  would  materially  lower 
our  standing  as  soldiers  and  men,  both 
with  the  government  and  the  people.  Ask 
ing  the  former  to  release  us,  seemed  to 
imply  that  it  could  do  it,  but  did  not  choose 
to,  and  I  was  not  quite  willing  to  believe  that. 
It  was  true  our  number  was  becoming  less 
every  day,  by  death.  Some  were  being  con 
stantly  released  in  this  way.  A  day  or  two 

after   we    had    taken    leave   of   D ,   we 

mourned  the  departure  of  another  dear  friend 

and  comrade,  C ,  of  Co.  A.     He  died  in 

the  early  part  of  the  day,  and  although  he 
was  unconscious,  and  left  no  dying  testimony, 
yet  we  knew  from  his  previous  life  that  his 
peace  was  made  with  God,  and  that  he  had 
gone  to  be  the  willing  inhabitant  of  another 
sphere. 

Such  were  the  scenes  transpiring  within. 
Without,  all  was  hurry  and  excitement,  for 
some  cause  or  other.  The  rebels  were  busy 
as  bees  in  throwing  up  earth-works,  in  plain 
sight  of  us.  Trains  were  coming  up  from 
below,  loaded  with  troops,  and  a  large  number 


184  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

of  new  tents  were  pitched  near  the  railroad 
station,  and  things  generally  indicated  uncom 
mon  stir  and  bustle.  The  inference  we  very 
naturally  drew  from  it  was,  that  the  Yankee 
raiders  were  nearer  than  had  been  reported, 
but  we  could  not  tell.  They  worked  away 
busily  upon  their  breastworks,  making  them 
as  formidable  as  they  could.  As  a  train  came 
in  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  and  the  whistle 
was  heard,  the  "Rebs"  greeted  it  with  loud 
cheers,  but  there  was  a  sudden  cessation  when 
they  halted,  which  we  attributed  to  the  recep 
tion  of  news  that  was  not  very  welcome  to 
them. 

Seventy-five  prisoners  came  in  during  the 
21st,  from  Gen.  Sherman's  army.  One  of  them 
was  placed  in  our  "  ninety,"  to  fill  the  vacancy 

caused  by  the  death  of  C .     He  was  a 

member  of  the  llth  Kentucky  Cavalry,  and 
was  in  Atlanta  the  morning  before  his  entrance 
to  prison,  at  which  time  most  of  our  army  had 
crossed  the  river,  and  our  skirmish  line  was 
but  three  miles  from  the  city.  The  railroad 
upon  which  he  found  conveyance  to  Anderson- 
ville,  was  cut  an  hour  afterwards  by  a  party  of 


LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  185 

our  cavalry.  It  was  said,  also,  that  our  forces 
were  operating  in  the  vicinity  of  Columbus, 
Ga.,  and  destroying  all  the  flouring-mills  in 
their  way.  We  were  not  particularly  jubilant 
over  this,  for  it  seemed  quite  likely  to  affect 
our  rations,  and  we  could  ill  brook  a  reduction 
in  this  matter.  "We  had  hoped  that  some  of 
them  would  come  to  our  liberation,  but  if  there 
was  a  way  in  which  we  could  accomplish  our 
own,  we  would  wait  for  nothing.  The  "tunnel" 
had  finally  been  carried  through,  and  was  so 
nearly  ready  we  counted  on  passing  through 
it  at  night;  but  just  before  sunset  the  "Rebs" 
made  the  discovery. 

Four  of  the  boys  were  at  work  in  it  at  the 
time,  and  of  course  were  caught ;  but  instead 
of  meeting  with  punishment,  the  Rebel  Quar 
termaster  gave  them  each  a  double  ration  for 
the  skillful  manner  in  which  they  had  con 
structed  the  "tunnel."  It  seemed  of  little  use 
for  the  men  to  think  of  getting  out,  but  they 
were  coming  in  by  the  hundred.  Six  hundred 
came  on  the  morning  after  our  attempted 
escape.  They  were  a  part  of  Wilson's  raiders, 
and  were  captured  on  the  29th  of  June,  but 


186  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

had  since  been  detained  at  Richmond  on  ac 
count  of  the  interruption  of  their  railroad 
facilities.  While  things  were  thus  proceeding, 
the  rebels  were  using  all  their  available  time 
for  the  strengthening  of  their  position.  The 
result  of  their  labor  soon  became  apparent  in 
the  long  line  of  fortification  which  appeared  a 
little  way  from  the  stockade,  and  directly  in 
front  of  it.  Evidently,  it  was  the  intention  of 
the  enemy  to  use  us  as  a  shield  for  themselves 
in  case  of  an  attack,  for  an  assault  could  not  be 
made  on  them  without  exposing  us  to  the  fire 
of  our  own  men.  It  w^ould  be  a  sorry  day  for 
them,  we  thought,  if  they  should  undertake  to 
commit  so  dastardly  a  deed.  Things  at  this 
time  were  hard  for  us.  A  small  allowance  of 
corn-bread  was  our  principal  article  of  diet. 
I  began  to  look  about  me  to  see  if  there  was 
any  thing  in  my  possession  with  which  I  could 
part,  that  I  might  have  something  a  little  dif 
ferent.  My  strength  was  failing,  owing  in 
great  measure  to  the  miserable  and  insufficient 
fare,  and  a  change  of  food  seemed  absolutely 
necessary.  I  thought  of  my  gold  pen,  that  had 
done  me  daily  service,  and  resolved  to  sell 


LIFE   IN   KEBEL   PRISONS.  187 

that.     Thus  decided,  I  went  forth  to  see  if  I 
could  raise  money  for  my  need  in  this  way, 
but  the  first  day  my  efforts  were  all  unavail 
ing.     It  would  not  do  to  let  courage  die  out, 
so  I  said,  "Perhaps  I  will  be  more  successful 
to-morrow;"  and  so  it  proved,  for  I  finally 
succeeded  in  selling  it  to  a  Kebel  Lieutenant 
for  three  bars  of  soap.     I  then  sold  the  soap  for 
five  dollars  and  twenty  cents  in  "greenbacks/* 
retaining  a  good  sized  piece  for  my  own  use. 
The  following  morning  I  went  over  to  the 
Eebel  Sutler's,  bright  and  early,  and  invested 
my  little  fortune  in  beans  and  salt,  and  for 
that  day  I  had  something  good  to  eat,  in  com 
parison  with  my  usual  food.     I  felt  much  bet 
ter  every  way,  and  was  convinced  that  it  was 
nothing  but  gradual  starvation  that  had  made 
me  feel  so  weak.     Oftentimes,  the  quality  of 
what  little  we  did  have  was  such  as  to  destroy 
even  the  small  appetite  we  had.     I  not  only 
managed  to  obtain  some  variety  of  food  by 
my  trade,  but  it  really  varied  the  monotony 
of    prison   life   a  little   by  my    speculations 
therein;  but  what  would  my  parents  say,  I 
said  to  myself,  if  they  should  see  their  only 


188  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

son  seated  on  the  ground,  selling  beans  by  the 
pint,  and  loudly  extolling  their  excellent  qual 
ities.  It  was  a  condition  of  things  best  appre 
ciated  by  those  who  were  receiving  nothing 
but  three  spoonfuls  of  sorghum  molasses  and 
less  than  half  a  loaf  of  corn  bread  to  live  on 
for  twenty-four  hours. 

We  heard  from  one  of  the  clerks  outside 
that  Atlanta  had  really  fallen  into  our  hands, 
and  that  eighteen  thousand  of  the  prisoners 
were  to  be  removed  to  other  prisons  in  differ 
ent  parts  of  the  South,  and  most  earnestly  did 
we  hope  that  we  might  be  of  the  number, 
since  things  were  growing  worse  and  worse 
with  us.  The  petition  scheme  was  not  yet 
abandoned.  One  of  the  principal  actors  in 
the  affair  came  around  one  morning,  with  the 
much-talked-of  document,  and  requested  our 
action  in  the  matter. 

Sergt.  Le vaughn  ordered  the  "ninety"  to 
fall  in,  the  petition  was  read  aloud  so  that  all 
could  hear,  and  then  we  were  called  upon  to 
vote  whether  we  would  give  it  our  indorsement 
or  not.  When  the  "ayes"  were  demanded,  not  a 
man  responded  to  them;  but  the  "nays"  were 


LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  189 

given  with  a  will  Mr.  Petitioner  did  not  find 
it  convenient  to  stay  about  our  quarters  long, 
and  we  missed  him  very  soon.  The  majority 
of  the  prisoners,  however,  were  in  favor  of  the 
measure,  although  our  vote  was  so  decidedly 
against  it. 

Our  prison  army  received  reinforcements  to 
about  five  hundred  on  the  morning  of  the 
27th.  A  greater  part  of  them  were  "one 
hundred  days"  men,  and  had  been  taken  by 
Early  in  his  Pennsylvania  raid.  They  came 
in  with  their  knapsacks,  but  the  cavalry  who 
were  with  them,  some  of  Wilson's  party,  were 
stripped  and  robbed  as  cavalry  usually  are. 
The  rebels  always  seemed  determined  to 
wreak  special  vengeance  on  these  men.  I 
have  seen  them  corne  in  hatless,  shoeless,  with 
out  even  their  coats  or  blouses.  They  brought 
the  story  of  exchange  that  was  to  take  effect 
in  August.  It  hardly  seemed  that  these  men 
could  have  any  object  in  fabricating  such 
news,  but  it  had  proved  false  so  *many  times, 
we  did  not  dare  believe  it  then.  The  next 
clay  a  thousand  more  made  their  entrance 
through  the  gate  that  was  always  open  to 


190  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

receive,  but  never  to  depart.  A  better  looking 
set  of  men,  and  men  better  provided  with 
things,  had  not  come  in  since  the  Plymouth 
garrison  entered  in  May.  Nearly  all  of  them 
had  their  knapsacks  and  blankets,  besides  a 
new  suit  of  Uncle  Sam's  Hue.  Why  the  rebels 
allowed  them  to  come  in  without  robbing 
them  at  all,  was  more  than  we  could  account 
for.  Just  before  they  came  in  at  the  prison- 
gate,  the  "Rebs"  in  the  fort  around  the  Cap 
tain's  quarters  fired  a  solid  shot  across  the 
prison,  directly  over  our  heads.  A  large 
crowd  of  us  had  gathered  near  the  gate,  to 
watch  the  new-comers,  and  the  "Johnnies," 
thinking  wre  might  possibly  seize  upon  the 
opportunity  to  make  a  break  and  get  out,  had 
fired  over  us  in  this  manner  to  intimidate  us. 

What  a  howl  of  derision  went  up  from  "  the 
doomed  thirty  thousand  ! " 

Soon  after  this,  a  line  of  poles  was  planted 
through  the  prison,  to  which  were  nailed 

WHITE   FLAGS, 

not  as  a  sign  of  surrender,  but  as  a  warning 
to  us,  that  no  crowd  should  approach  nearer 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  191 

the  gate  than  those,  under  penalty  of  being 
fired  upon  with  artillery, — that  is,  when  pris 
oners  were  being  marched  in.  Their  utility 
might  have  been  quickly  tested,  for  several 
hundred  more  came  in  the  same  day,  and,  like 
their  immediate  predecessors,  they  were  pro 
vided  with  blankets,  and  well  prepared  to 
"stand  grief,"  if  things  external  would  conduce 
to  it. 

The  latter  part  of  the  month,  the  rebels 
were  moving  around  in  camp,  endeavoring  to 
entice  prisoners  outside  to  work  at  shoemaJdng 
for  the  so-called  "Confederate"  government. 
They  had  done  this  before,  and  we  then 
thought  they  would  be  careful  how  they  did 
it  again ,  but  they  had  much  to  do  about  this 
time,  and  no  doubt  they  thought  it  would  be 
very  desirable  to  have  help.  If  they  were 
successful  in  obtaining  it,  I  am  ignorant  of  it. 
They  still  continued  to  work  faithfully  upon 
their  fortifications,  not  discontinuing  their 
labor,  even  for  the  Sabbath.  This  was  strange 
to  us,  for  they  had  usually  paid  some  regard 
to  the  observance  of  holy  time,  and  we  won 
dered  what  so  much  preparation  could  mean. 


192  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

We  could  hardly  think  that  they  would  take 
so  much  pains,  and  put  themselves  to  so  much 
trouble,  as  to  do  it  simply  to  prevent  an  out 
break  on  our  part.  We  therefore  conjectured 
it  might  be  as  a  place  for  Hood  to  fall  back 
upon  in  case  of  an  emergency  in  his  history. 
They  felled  an  immense  number  of  pine  trees, 
so  that  the  landscape  about  us  began  to  pre 
sent  quite  a  barren  appearance,  and  this 
seemed  to  indicate  the  fact  that  they  wished 
uninterrupted  range  for  their  artillery,  for 
some  cause  or  other,  but  of  course  we  could 
know  nothing,  until  the  actual  accomplish 
ment  of  a  thing  had  made  it  existing  fact. 
Our  information  was  mostly  received  through 
the  newly  arrived  prisoners,  but  wre  wrould 
sometimes  gain  a  little  from  some  one  of  the 
rebel  guard  with  whom  we  were  thrown  in 
contact.  In  a  conversation  I  had  with  one,  at 
one  time,  he  remarked  to  me : 

"I  had  a  boy  who  was  a  prisoner  with  your 
people  at  the  North."  "Indeed,"  said  I,  "how 
was  he  treated?'''  "Very  kindly,  sir,  very 
kindly,"  he  replied.  "Did  you  receive  letters 
from  him  while  he  was  in  prison  ?"  I  continued. 


LIFE   IN   KEBEL  PRISONS.  193 

"Yes,  sir,  lie  wrote  to  us  and  we  wrote  to 
him."  "He  probably  fared  much  better  than 
we  do  in  this  prison,"  said  I,  "did  he  not?" 
With  great  frankness  he  answered,  "  Oh !  yes, 
sir, — I  reckon  you  fare  pretty  hard  in  there, 
but  we  aint  to  blame  for  it.  The  'Old  Cap 
tain'  is  as  hard  on  us  as  he  is  with  you.  A 
heap  of  us  were  taken  right  off  our  farms, 
and  we  left  the  crops  standing,  with  nobody 
to  tend  'em  but  the  women  folks!'  This  is 
the  way,  then,  I  thought,  that  these  men  are 
conscripted.  No  wonder  that  "  Jeff"  manages 
to  keep  his  army  full.  Our  guards,  generally, 
were  an  ignorant  and  superstitious  class  of 
men,  and  spoke  the  Southern  dialect  in  all  its 
native  purity.  They  would  sometimes  ask  us, 
"What  makes  you  'uns  come  down  here  to 
fight  we  'uns?"  and  then  wrould  follow  the 
confident  assertion,  "If  you  'uns  had  staid  at 
home  there  would  have  been  no  war."  They 
had  no  proper  understanding  of  the  true 
merits  of  the  case  at  all.  They  seemed  to 
think  that  we  had  come  South  merely  to  dis 
possess  them  of  their  property.  Many  of 
these  were  poor  whites,  and  although  they  do 


194  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

not  own  slaves  themselves,  they  stand  up  as 
firmly  for  it  as  the  more  wealthy  and  intelli 
gent.  One  of  the  latter,  a  Kentuckian,  and  a 
Surgeon  in  the  Confederate  army,  said  to  me 
one  day,  "I  believe  that  slavery  is  a  divine 
institution.  The  negroes  are  placed  in  our 
hands,  and  we  will  be  held  accountable  at  the 
last  day,  for  the  manner  in  which  we  have 
treated  them."  I  wondered  if  all  took  that 
view  of  it,  especially  the  owner  of  that  slave 
I  had  seen  so  unmercifully  beaten  a  morning 
before.  The  Surgeon,  himself,  said  that  he 
"  brushed  his  up  a  little  when  they  needed  it." 
Indeed,  the  whole  system,  say  what  they 
might,  is  one  of  cruelty  and  barbarism,  and 
who  does  not  know  it  ? 

One  little  affair  happened  about  this  time, 
which  we  considered  the  "cheekiest"  thing 
that  had  been  done  by  the  "Johnnies."  It  was 
an  attempt  to  secure  the  services  of  our  men 
as  artillerists,  probably  to  drill  their  ignorant 
conscripts  at  the  guns.  A  number  of  their 
Sergeants  were  sent,  and  circulated  among 
our  men,  ostensibly  for  this  purpose,  but  we 
thought  it  an  instance  of  cool  audacity  on 


LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  195 

their  part.  Soon  after  this  was  another  speci 
men  of  rebel  doings.  A  man,  professing  to 
be  a  Confederate  Chaplain,  came  into  prison,  at 
the  request,  as  he  said,  of  Gen.  Winder,  and 
read  an  extract  from  the  New  York  Herald, 
to  a  large  crowd,  regarding  the  matter  of 
exchange.  The  article  stated  that  the  com 
missioners  had  met  several  times,  and  that 
through  the  tact  of  Col.  Mulford,  all  existing 
obstacles  had  been  removed,  and  that  an 
immediate  exchange  was  more  than  probable. 
After  reading  this  he  held  a  religious  service. 
Whether  he  really  believed  what  he  had  read, 
or  whether  the  whole  thing  was  perpetrated 
to  raise  our  hopes,  and  keep  us  quiet,  was 
more  than  we  could  tell.  "  It  would  not  be 
strange,  if  there  were  none  other  object  than 
this,"  was  the  thought  that  filled  many  minds, 
so  faithless  had  we  become  in  everything 
they  said. 

On  the  2d  of  August,  it  was  reported,  and 
denied,  also,  that  about  two  hundred  of  the 
sick  in  the  hospital  had  been  paroled,  and 
were  to  be  sent  to  our  lines.  Our  men  were 
dying.  Three  or  four  of  our  own  regiment 


196  LIFE   IN    REBEL  PRISONS. 

had  passed  away  within  a  few  days.  Our 
distress  and  exposure  was  great.  I  managed 
to  buy  a  pair  of  shoes  of  one  of  the  newly 
arrived  prisoners,  for  my  own  comfort,  but  it 
was  the  first  time  I  had  worn  any  for  two 
months.  We  were  often  visited  by  severe 
thunder  storms,  and  it  was  not  a  thing 
unknown  for  the  lightning  to  strike  a  tall 
pine  tree  in  close  proximity  to  us :  beside,  we 
had  nothing  to  shield  us  from  the  rain,  for  our 
blanket  tents  had  come  to  be  of  little  worth 
now,  except  to  shelter  us  from  the  burning 
heat  of  the  sun.  They  had  become  sadly  worn, 
and  wrere  almost  no  protection  from  the  storm. 
One  could  but  notice,  at  this  time,  the  change 
which  had  taken  place  in  us  all.  When  we 
first  entered  the  prison,  we  thought  the  time 
would  not  be  long  that  we  should  have  to 
stay,  and  we  tried  to  pass  the  time  away  as 
pleasantly  as  possible.  Fine,  clear  evenings, 
we  wTould  gather  together  and  sing,  but  now 
everybody  looked  care-worn,  and  the  boys 
moved  about  quietly  and  sadly.  It  was  sur 
prising,  also,  to  see  how  many  of  the  men 
were  victims  of  insanity ;  those  who  had 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  197 

become  so  in  that  place,  we  could  scarcely  call 
anything  less  than  a  hell  upon  earth. 

One  young   man,   of   excellent   education, 
and  evidently  of  good  birth,  while  in  this  sad 
condition,  would  go  down  to  the  little  brook 
nearly  every  day,  at  noon,  when  the  heat  of 
the  sun  was  most  intense,  and  taking  off  his 
clothes,  or   more    appropriately   rags,  would 
wade  backward  and  forward,  but  rarely,  if 
ever,  washing  himself.     Seeing  him  one  day, 
while  performing  his  accustomed  round,  I  said 
to  him,  "Why  don't  you  wash  and  come  out, 
and  not  stay  there  in  the  sun  ?"     His  hopeless 
reply  was,  "I  am   waiting   for   the   water  to 
become   clear."     Poor  fellow  !     It  never  be 
came  clear  to  him.     Another  man  would  con 
stantly  imagine  that  he  was  some  sort  of  an 
animal,    and   he    would    strip   himself   of  all 
clothing,  and  persist  in  wallowing  through  the 
swamp  on  his  hands  and  knees.     Still  another 
occupied  his  time  in  making  curious  sketches, 
in  which  rebels  and  devils   would   figure  in 
intimate  companionship,  but  not  so  very  crazy 
there,  we   thought.     He   must   have  been  a 
man  of  study  at  home,  for  he  was  well  versed 


198  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

in  history,  and  could  converse  fluently  upon 
almost  any  scientific  subject, — almost  too 
readily  sometimes,  for  he  never  knew  when 
to  stop,  when  once  started. 

Melancholy  as  these  things  were,  they  were 
mild  compared  with  what  I  saw  afterward, — 
that  of  a  living  man  being  devoured  by  mag 
gots.  Parts  of  his  body  were  eaten  until  they 
had  become  raw  and  bloody,  and  they  could 
even  be  seen  issuing  from  his  eyes  and  mouth. 
He  belonged  to  Co.  A,  of  the  52d  N.  Y.  Eeg't, 
and  he  came  to  this  terrible  state  through 
sickness,  exposure  and  neglect.  I  then 
thought  if  I  should  live  to  get  North,  I  would 
never  speak  of  these  horrors,  for  they  would 
seem  too  much  to  believe,  but  they  were  the 
solemn  realities  of  our  prison  life,  as  will  be 
abundantly  confirmed  by  hundreds  of  others. 
I  had  a  feeling  quite  in  sympathy  with  that 
of  the  immortal  poet,  when  he  wrote, 

"But  that  I  am  forbid 

To  tell  the  secrets  of  my  prison-house, 

I  could  a  tale  unfold,  whose  lightest  word 

Would  harrow  up  thy  soul ;  freeze  thy  young  blood ; 

Make  thy  two  eyes,  like  stars,  start  from  their  spheres ; 

Thy  knotted  and  combined  locks  to  part, 

And  each  particular  hair  to  stand  on  end, 

Like  quills  upon  the  fretful  porcupine." 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  199 

A  number  of  cavalry-men  were  captured  in 
the  attack  upon  Macon,  and  found  their  way 
to  our  dwelling  place,  or  rather  had  it  found 
for  them,  on  the  2d  of  the  month,  it  now 
being  August.  The  city  was  receiving  a  brisk 
shelling  when  they  left,  and  they  reported 
Maj.  Gen.  Stoneman  taken,  with  a  number  of 
his  men.  Thus  did  we  obtain  an  occasional 
glimpse  of  the  battling  world  in  which  we 
were  deeply  interested,  and  in  this  way  expe 
rienced  a  slight  disturbance  in  the  even  tenor 
of  our  thoughts,  that  otherwise  might  have 
found  themselves  tending  to  stagnation. 

Coming  in  contact  with  one  of  the  boys 
who  had  an  old  Bible,  I  found  upon  the  back 
part  of  it,  in  almost  obliterated  characters,  the 
following  lines,  which  I  thought  worthy  of 
preservation,  although  ignorant  of  the  author 
ship.  It  was  certainly  richly  suggestive  of 
that  holy  tenderness  of  love,  that  sometimes 
dwells  in  the  heart  like  a  fragrant  flower, 
which  blesses  with  its  sweetness  those  who 
come  nearest  to  it : 

"Forget  thee?    If  to  dream  by 

Night,  and  muse  on  thee  by  day ; 
If  all  the  worship  deep  and  wild, 

A  sister's  heart  can  pay ; 


200  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

If  prayers  ascend  for  thee 

To  Heaven's  protecting  power; 

If  winged  thoughts  that  fleet, 

To  thee,  a  thousand  in  an  hour; 
If  busy  fancy  blending  thee 

With  all  my  future  lot : 
If  this  thou  callest  forgetting, 

Then  indeed  art  thou  forgot." 

Equally  original,  no  doubt,  but  not  quite  in 
the  same  style,  is  the  following,  written  by  a 
"secesh"  young  lady  to  her  lover.  The  letter 
which  contained  the  brilliant  effusion  was 
found  by  one  of  our  men. 

"'Tis  hard  for  you'unsto  live  in  camps, 
'Tis  hard  for  you  'uns  to  fight  the  Yanks, 
'Tis  hard  for  you  'uns  and  we'uus  to  part, 
Now  you  'uns  has  we  'uns  hearts." 

For  some  reason  unknown  to  us,  an  altera 
tion  was  made  in  the  line  of  white  flags,  soon 
after  they  wrere  stationed  in  our  midst ;  some 
were  moved  nearer  to  the  stockade,  while 
others  were  left  remaining  on  the  old  line. 

It  is  very  noticeable  how  little 

THE   REBEL   FLAG 

is  displayed  at  the  South.     One  might  almost 
travel  from  one  end  of  the  Confederacy  to  the 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  201 

other,  without  seeing  one,  while  at  the  North 
the  "  Stars  and  Stripes  "  are  floating  from  nearly 
every  prominent  public  building,  and  often 
times  from  private  dwellings.  "Perhaps,"  we 
thought,  "they  are  ashamed  of  their  ill-omened 
emblem,"  or,  what  would  be  quite  as  likely, 
bunting  might  be  scarce.  But  there  is  a  rea 
son  that  lies  deeper  than  these  things,  which 
accounts  for  the  difference.  The  people  of 
the  North  have  long  been  accustomed  to  asso 
ciate  their  dearest  interests,  as  a  people,  with 
the  flag  of  their  country.  To  them  it  is  the 
symbol  of  everything  that  is  just  and  true, 
and  in  its  starry  folds  lies  hid  that  peculiarly 
stimulating  power  which  kindles  the  flame  of 
loyalty,  and  makes  them  of  strong  heart  and 
unconquerable  will  in  the  day  of  struggle, 
when  its  triumph  is  called  in  question.  They 
are  jealous  of  its  honor,  and  rather  than  see 
it  insulted  and  torn  from  its  rightful  position, 
they  will  do  and  dare  until  death  in  its  defense. 
It  has  come  to  be  almost  an  household  idol  in 
every  Northern  home,  and  children  are  imbib 
ing  a  strange  love  for  it,  that  will  tell  upon 
their  devotion  to  country  in  their  future  his- 
9 


202  LIFE  IN   BEBEL   PRISONS. 

tory.  To  the  soldier  and  the  patriot  it  has  a 
wonderful  significance.  To  what  holy  heroism 
it  moves  him ! — to  what  deeds  of  valor  it  in 
cites  him !  What  sublime  instances  of  faith 
fulness  have  we  seen  in  many  of  the  color- 
bearers  of  our  regiments !  We  have  seen 
them  steadily  marching  on  in  the  face  of  dan 
ger,  choosing  to  give  their  life-blood  rather 
than  prove  recreant  to  the  trust  committed 
unto  them,  and  all  because  they  loved  the 
cause  which  the  flag  symbolized. 

Not  thus  with  the  South.  They  have  none 
of  this  all-pervading  appreciation.  Their 
newly-constructed  emblem  does  not  appeal  to 
the  heart  with  much  of  power,  for  it  has  too 
weak  a  hold  upon  existence  itself,  to  be  as  a 
pledge  or  basis  of  anything  to  come, — and  be 
sides,  it  means  too  little ;  it  is  too  narrow,  and 
declares  the  selfishness  and  arrogance  in  which 
it  had  its  origin.  To  live,  it  must  be  planted 
in  the  hearts  of  men,  spring  up,  mature,  and 
bear  fruit  and  yield  its  rich  harvest  of  bless 
ing,  or,  if  this  seems  far-fetched,  it  must  be 
thoroughly  tested,  and  made  to  show  its  adapt 
ation  and  fitness  for  the  wants  of  men,  before 


LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  203 

it  can  be  readily  received  by  them,  calling 
forth  their  love  and  veneration. 

A  squad  of  prisoners,  about  one  hundred  in 
number,  came  into  prison  on  the  4th,  and  by 
their  being  stripped  of  everything  in  their 
possession,  we  concluded  they  had  belonged 
to  a  raiding  party.  The  old  adage  that  "Mis 
ery  loves  company,"  was  out  of  place  with  us. 
We  could  not  but  deeply  commiserate  the 
condition  of  every  new  one  that  came  among 
us.  It  was  nothing  but  an  introduction  to  a 
life  of  wretchedness  that  could  have  no  coun 
terpart,  it  seemed,  upon  the  face  of  the  earth. 
One  principal  topic  of  conversation,  forced 
upon  us  by  our  necessity,  was,  "something 
good  to  eat."  I  remembered  having  read  that 
Lieut.  Strains'  party,  in  their  perilous  expedi 
tion  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  when  al 
most  dying  with  starvation,  were  accustomed 
to  assemble  themselves  around  a  fire,  and  lux 
uriate  in  imaginary  feasts.  Little  did  I  then 
think  that  I  should  ever  do  a  similar  thing, — 
for  the  idea  of  a  stay  in  any  place,  that  would 
incline  me  to  it,  was  something  that  never  en 
tered  into  my  calculations  at  all ;  but  we  were 


204  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

brought  to  it,  and  there  was  no  relief,  and  we 
therefore  resorted  to  a  like  expedient.  If  any 
one  knew  of  a  rare  dish,  something  particu 
larly  nice,  he  would  edify  the  rest  by  entering 
into  a  minute  description  of  its  ingredients, 
manner  of  cooking,  &c.,  and  anything  extra 
would  be  noted  down  by  those  who  had  dia 
ries.  In  consequence  of  these,  I  had  in  the 
back  part  of  my  diary  a  tempting  array  of 
receipts  for  making  pot-pies,  puddings,  &c., 
while  in  reality  I  was  almost  starved,  lacking 
even  necessaries, — much  more  luxuries. 

C ,  of  Co.  D  of  our  regiment,  died 

about  this  time.  He  was  a  professor  of  reli 
gion,  and,  I  think,  a  member  of  our  Regi 
mental  church. 

This  church  was  organized  by  Chaplain 
Dixon,  of  the  16th  Conn.  Reg.,  and  was  called 
a  "Christian  Association"  being  composed  of 
those  who  had  been  church-members  at  home, 
and  those  also  were  received  into  its  fellowship 
who  experienced  a  change  of  heart  while  in 
the  army.  There  were  a  large  number  of 
these. 

It  was  not  sectarian  at  all,  but  included 


LIFE   IN   REBEL    PRISONS.  205 

every  denomination,  even  all  that  loved  the 
Lord,  without  regard  to  name. 

While  we  were  at  Portsmouth,  Ya.,  we  had 
a  chapel,  built  mainly  by  the  subscriptions  of 
the  men,  though  there  were  officers  who  were 
interested  and  materially  aided,  by  their  con 
tributions,  the  worthy  cause.  It  would  have 
been  thought  a  rude  structure  at  home,  but  it 
answered  the  purpose  of  its  construction  very 
well,  and  we  had  very  many  happy  seasons 
there.  A  number  of  ladies  were  visiting  their 
husbands  in  the  regiment  at  the  time  of  its 
erection,  and  taking  an  interest  in  the  object, 
they  gathered  together  and  did  what  was  in 
their  power  to  add  to  its  comfort  and  neat 
ness.  They  covered  the  preacher's  desk  with 
blue  muslin,  and  when  all  was  done  the  edifice 
was  dedicated.  It  was  on  the  Sabbath,  and 
five  Chaplains  were  present,  a  number  of 
ladies,  and  a  great  crowd  of  soldiers.  Rev. 
Mr.  Smith,  of  the  8th  Conn.  Beg.,  preached 
the  sermon. 

Besides  the  religious  services  to  which  it 
was  primarily  devoted,  one  evening  of  every 
week  was  spent  in  it  in  debating  topics  of  the 


206  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

day  which  excited  general  interest;  for  a 
"Temperance  and  Debating  Society"  had  been 
formed  in  the  regiment  previously  to  this. 
All  members  thereof  signed  a  pledge  of  absti 
nence  from  intoxicating  liquors,  which  was 
binding  upon  them  while  they  were  in  the 
army. 

On  the  night  of  the  6th,  another  of  our 
boys  passed  away  from  earth, — a  slender  little 
fellow,  only  fifteen  years  of  age,  who  never 
ought  to  have  been  admitted  into  the  service. 
He  was  a  brave  boy,  and  felt  quite  proud  that 
he  was  enduring  his  imprisonment  as  well  as 
he  seemed  to  for  a  time,  but  sickness  seized 
upon  him,  and  he  died. 

The  next  day  we  said  among  ourselves, 
"Death,  nothing  but  death  here!" — for  we 
were  called  upon  to  mourn  the  departure  of 
another  dear  comrade,  Corporal  Flower,  of 
Hartford,  Conn.  He  closed  his  eyes  upon 
earthly  scenes  just  at  twilight,  and  his  name, 
stricken  from  the  roll-call  of  prison,  was  added 
to  the  long  list  of  sleeping  heroes  treasured  in 
the  country's  annals,  and  to  that  other  list 
above,  from  which  no  name  of  earth  will  be 


LIFE   IN    REBEL    PRISONS.  207 

found  wanting.  Alas !  who  could  send  the  sad 
tidings  to  the  family  circle  he  had  left ;  who 
tell  his  bosom  companion  and  fatherless  ones 
of  their  loss  ?  Such  duty  is  mournful  for  any 
one  to  perform.  Not  only  they,  in  this  case, 
but  all  who  had  known  him,  would  long  hold 
him  in  cherished  remembrance  for  his  amiable 
qualities  and  manly  virtues. 

We  held  a  short  funeral  service  over  his 
body  before  it  was  carried  out, — the  last  and 
best  tribute  of  respect  we  could  give,  and  this 
we  cheerfully  accorded  to  all  of  our  regiment 
who.  died  in  prison.  Hardly  were  the  services 
ended,  before  we  learned  that  another,  Cor 
poral  B- ,  had  died  also.  We  performed 

similar  service  again,  with  his  mortal  remains 
before  us ;  and  he  was  carried  out  to  the  dead 
house,  and  the  men  who  bore  his  body  thither 
were  told  that  two  more  were  dead  in  the  hos 
pital  What  a  day's  record  was  that!  It 
seemed  heart-rending  to  see  our  comrades  suf 
fering  and  dying  on  every  side  of  us,  while 
we  were  utterly  powerless  to  do  anything 
towards  alleviating  their  pain.  We  felt  that 
this  was  worse  than  starvation. 


208  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

Another  prisoner  also  ended  his  days  in  a 
different  manner,  being  shot,  or  murdered,  by 
the  rebel  guard.  The  fatal  bullet  missed  the 
person  it  was  intended  for,  and  pierced  his 
hea'd,  while  three  feet  away  from  the  dead 
line.  This,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  not 
the  only  instance  in  which  the  innocent  suf 
fered  for  the  guilty,  in  the  eagerness  of  the 
guard  to  secure  a  victim  to  their  glory. 

The  Rebel  Quartermaster  told  us  on  the 
7th,  that  he  had  seen  a  dispatch -from  the 
Confederate  Government  to  General  Winder, 
ordering  him  to  commence  paroling  the  pris 
oners  at  once,  or,  at  least,  make  preparations 
for  it.  Still  we  said,  "A  rebel  lie,  and  nothing 
more,"  for  past  and  sad  experience  had  taught 
us  that  the  word  of  a  rebel  officer  meant  little 
if  anything. 

Thirteen  men,  however,  were  taken  from  the 
first  detachment  out  of  prison,  and  instructed 
to  take  their  things  with  them  and  bid  their 
friends  "Good-bye,"  as  they  would  see  them 
no  more.  It  certainly  looked  a  little  like  ex 
change,  but  why  not  take  a  larger  number  if 
that  was  the  case?  Another  thing  looked 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  209 

as  if  they  intended  to  keep  us  a  while  lon 
ger, — some  of  us,  at  least. 

They  had  before  had  the  building  of  some 
barracks  in  contemplation,  and  the  frame  of 
one  was  now  brought  in,  ready  to  be  put  up 
very  soon ;  so  we  were  sure  they  did  not  in 
tend  the  prison  to  be  wanting  in  inmates  a 
while  longer. 

The  9th  day  of  that  sultry  August  month 
was  a  day  long  to  be  remembered  in  Camp 
Sumter,  for  it  almost  seemed  that  the  elements 
of  heaven  were  commissioned  for  our  rescue, 
and  that  in  spite  of  armed  soldiers  we  should 
go  free.  About  noon,  a 

TERRIFIC   RAIN   STORM 

commenced  and  continued  nearly  the  whole 
afternoon.  It  must  have  extended  over  a 
large  tract  of  country,  for  very  soon  the  little 
brook  that  ran  through  the  prison  increased 
in  size,  until  it  became  a  rushing  torrent,  cov 
ering  the  whole  of  the  swamp,  and  tearing 
through  the  camp  with  irresistible  force. 
The  stockade  was  soon  undermined,  and  fell 
over  in  six  different  places,  but,  of  course,  the 
alarm  was  given  in  what  the  rebels  would  call 


210  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

"right  smart  quick/'  for  two  of  the  guns  in  the 
fort  about  the  head-quarters  of  Capt.  Wizz, 
were  at  once  discharged  as  a  signal  for  them 
to  rally,  and  instantly  their  whole  force  out 
side  fell  in  under  arms,  and  took  position  in 
front  of  these  gaps,  to  keep  the  "Yankees" 
in.  It  was  some  little  consolation  to  many  to 
see  them  stand  there  in  the  pouring  rain,  and 
we  cared  little  if  they  had  to  continue  their 
watchings  through  the  night  under  the  same 
dispensation.  The  large  timbers  which  had 
composed  the  stockade,  came  floating  down 
the  stream,  and  as  wood  was  an  almost  price 
less  treasure  to  the  men,  many  of  them 
plunged  into  the  angry  waters,  at  the  risk  of 
their  lives,  to  secure,  if  possible,  the  much 
coveted  article.  Many  were  successful,  but  even 
then,  after  all  their  risk  and  their  labor,  they 
were  not  allowed  to  cut  it  up,  under  penalty 
of  the  whole  camp  losing  their  rations  for  five 
days.  We  could  ill  afford  to  dispense  with 
our  ordinary  fare,  if  we  thought  of  remaining 
in  the  terrestrial  sphere,  although  that  day  it 
was  nothing  more  than  a  few  boiled  beans, 
cooked  without  salt,  and  full  of  dirt. 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS  213 

The  rebels  worked  faithfully  and  steadily 
until  morning,  to  close  the  openings  which  the 
heavens  made  for  us,  and  at  that  time  things 
were  mostly  replaced,  so  as  to  appear  in  their 
old  condition,  and  let  in  three  hundred  more 
prisoners  from  Gen.  Sherman's  army. 
.  Left  to  themselves,  the  inanimate  forces  of 
nature  would  have  opened  a  highway  for  our 
exodus,  but  even  they  were  checked  in  the 
attempt.  The  time  had  not  come. 

"How  poor  are  they  who  have  not  patience.1' 

In  everything  pertaining  to  our  earthly  lot, 
wre  were  as  poor  as  mortals  could  well  be,  and  if 
there  was  any  wealth  in  the  cultivation  of  the 
graces,  we  might  as  well  observe  them,  for 
there  was  no  growing  better  in  any  other 
direction.  If  there  wras  any  advantage  in 
being  tested,  one  might  surely  realize  all  the 
benefit  accruing  from  that,  for  we  had  been 
subject  to  the  crucible  a  long  time,  and  the 
true  metal  could  but  be  manifest,  if  there  was 
any  to  be  seen.  It  is  true,  we  were  weary  of 
pacing  our  little  round,  and  longed  for  freedom 
— such  freedom  as  we  had  once  known,  and  in 
thinking  of  it,  the  language  pf  Young  seemed 


214  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

not  extravagant  to  apply  to  it  in  connection 
with  our  relations  thereto. 

"Art  thou  not  dearer  to  my  eyes  than  light? 
Dost  thou  not  circulate  through  all  my  veins, 
Mingle  with  Life,  and  form  my  very  Soul  $" 


CHAPTEK    VI. 

HOPES    AND    FEARS. 

THE  boys  who  went  up  at  sick-call  on  the 
morning  of  the  10th?  to  receive  their  prescrip 
tions  from  the  Surgeons,  saw  a  member  of 
our  regiment,  who  had  been  detailed  to  work 
in  the  cook-house,  and  had  a  long  conversa 
tion  with  him,  with  reference  to  our  affairs. 
Through  hin^we  learned  that  our  Lieutenant 
Colonel  was  exchanged,  with  the  rest  of  the 
officers  who  were  sent  from  Macon  to  Charles 
ton,  S.  C.,  and  also  that  Gen.  Winder  had  been 
heard  to  say  that  paroling  would  commence 
among  us  on  the  15th  of  the  month.  If  our 
officers  had  really  been  ticketed  for  the  North, 
it  really  seemed  there  was  hope  for  us  also. 
It  was  true  "dog  day"  weather.  We  were 


LIFE   IN   REBEL  PRISONS.  215 

having  heavy  showers  of  rain  frequently,  and 
the  crowds  of  men,  unsheltered,  were  rapidly 
becoming  diseased,  and  fast  dying.  Small 
numbers  still  continued  to  come  in,  many 
of  them  from  cavalry  parties,  who  had  been 
thoroughly  robbed.  The  following  day  was 
the  anniversary  of  my  soldier  life,  and  in 
view  of  it  I  made  this  record  in  my  diary : 
"Two  years  ago  to-day  I  entered  the  ser 
vice  of  my  country,  and  I  can  honestly  say 
now,  I  am  not  sorry  that  I  enlisted,  although 
I  am  '  in  durance  vile/  " 

CONFIDENCE 

in  the  justness  and  importance  of  our  cause 
had  not  faltered  in  all  the  days  of  our 
exile.  We  could  not  go  heart  and  hand  in 
sustaining  the  government,  as  we  had  done, 
but  we  could  go  heart  and  soul,  and  that  we 
generally  did.  It  is  true,  that  with  our  feel 
ings  of  hope  and  confidence  wrere  mingled 
those  of  pain  and  sadness,  because  of  the  fear 
ful  reduction  of  our  numbers  by  death.  Upon 
an  average,  up  to  this  time,  one  had  died 
every  day  of  the  month,  and  others  were  very 
sick,  and  evidently  sinking.  At  this  rate,  if 


216  LIFE   IN   REBEL  PRISONS. 

we  should  remain  prisoners,  it  would  not  be 
long  before  nearly  all  our  regiment  would  be 
sleeping  the  sleep  that  knows  no  waking; 
they  would  have  passed  "beyond  that  bourne 
from  whence  no  traveler  returns."  "  Coming 
events  "did  not  "cast  their  shadows  before," 
in  all  their  length  and  breadth,  when  we 
passed  through  the  streets  of  Hartford,  with 
jubilant  tread,  twice  twelve  months  before, 
else  we  had  been  conscious  of  deeper  emo 
tions,  amid  the  cheers  and  congratulations  of 
parting.  Doubtless  there  was  more  or  less  of 
vague  feeling,  that  some  would  be  left  behind, 
since  the  chances  of  battle  were  such,  but 
each  had  a  certain  buoyancy  of  hope  that, 
after  all,  he  might  escape  to  return  to  home 
and  friends. 

About  one  hundred  came  into  prison  on 
this  day  of  which  we  are  speaking,  and 
some  of  the  Plymouth  men;  who  had  been 
wounded  and  left  in  hospitals,  were  among 

them.     Our  Orderly  Sergeant,  N ,  was  one 

of  them.  They  had  been  at  Salisbury,  N.  C., 
and  bore  evidence  of  good  treatment,  for  they 
came  in  with  clean  faces  and  clean  clothes, 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  217 

while  we  scarcely  made  even  a  respectable 
appearance.  We  were  without  any  conven 
iences  whatever,  to  keep  curselves  clean, 
and  beside  we  sadly  lacked  soap.  But  two 
issues  had  been  made  of  this  article  since  we 
had  been  in  prison,  and  then  we  only  received 
about  a  table  spoonful  of  soft  stuff,  of  the 
poorest  kind,  for  each  man.  In  our  own  army 
we  had  always  a  plentiful  supply,  and  that 
which  was  of  very  good  quality. 

We  obtained  access  to  some  Macon  newspa 
pers  about  this  time,  which  stated  that  Mobile, 
or  its  forts  were  in  our  possession,  and  that  it 
surrendered  without  firing  a  gun.  Were  this 
the  truth,  we  could  not  have  a  very  exalted 
opinion  of  the  fighting  capacity  of  the  garri 
son,  we  thought,  but  editorial  expression  was 
not  always  correct,  wre  had  found,  and  were 
destined  to  find  again.  These  same  papers 
stated  that  the  work  of  paroling  prisoners  was  to 
commence  on  the  15th,  and  as  it  was  a  simple 
corroboration  of  the  story  we  had  been  told 
before,  we  dared  to  build  hopes  upon  it. 
However  valuable  concurrent  testimony  may 
be  in  most  cases,  we  had  never  found  it  par- 


218  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

ticularly  reliable  in  our  intercourse  with  the 
southern  people.  What  an  exhibition  of 
their  pride,  and  passion  we  had  seen !  What 
ideas  of  their  intelligence  and  humanity  we 
had  been  compelled  to  form  !  What  manifes 
tations  of  their  power  and  ability  to  govern, 
had  been  thrust  upon  us  !  The  treatment  we 
had  received,  in  every  respect,  was  not  such 
as  was  calculated  to  enhance  in  any  wise,  a 
man's  admiration  for  the  Southern  Confede 
racy,  but  only  to  make  him  pray  to  be  deliv 
ered  from  it.  "  It  will  not  last  always,"  was 
the  consolation  we  took  to  ourselves  in  such 
hours  as  ration-drawing,  when  there  was  noth 
ing  to  come  to  us,  for  at  times  we  received 
riothing  at  all,  and  were  left  to  experience  the 
gnawings  of  hunger  without  mitigation.  As 
if  starvation  was  not  enough,  we  had  to 
endure  the  insults  of  their  officers, — boast- 
ingly  denominated  high-toned  and  chivalrous. 
One  of  them,  a  so-called 

OFFICER   OF   THE   DAY 

for  the  time,  ascended  the  sentries'  stand,  near 
the  main  entrance  to  the  prison,  and  began 
to  taunt  us  with  the  idea  that  we  were  placing 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  219 

ourselves  on  a  level  with  the  "nigger,"  by 
making  a  soldier  of  him.  After  he  had  gone 
on  in  this  manner  for  some  time,  one  of  the 
prisoners  interrupted  him  with  the  query, 
"  Captain,  which  is  the  worse  ?  We  use  the 
negro  as  a  soldier.  You  employ  blood-hounds 
to  do  a  soldier's  duty,"  referring,  of  course,  to 
the  mode  of  pursuing  the  prisoners  who  made 
attempts  to  escape.  Evidently  he  was  not 
lost  to  all  sense  of  shame,  and  he  replied,  as 
he  hung  his  head,  "This  is  the  only  place 
where  they  are  ever  used."  A  man  who  had 
been  confined  at  Danville,  Va.,  spoke  up  at 
this  juncture,  informing  the  officer  that  they 
were  used  there,  while  another  who  had  been 
at  Cahawba,  Ala.,  asserted  that  he  knew  them 
to  be  kept  there  also,  for  the  same  nefarious 
purpose.  It  was  quite  plain  that  the  Captain 
didn't  relish  the  turn  in  the  argument,  for  he 
said  no  more,  and  quickly  took  himself  from 
our  midst, — a  wiser  and  a  better  man,  we 
hoped,  from  having  thus  been  enlightened  by 
us. 

One  hundred  more  prisoners  now  came  in 
from  Sherman's  army,     One  of  our  number, 


220  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

who  was  at  work  outside,  framing  barracks, 
gathered  up  the  information  that  this  General 
had  blown  up  part  of  Atlanta,  and  flanked 
Hood's  army  again  ;  so  that  we  imagined  that 
things  were  working,  notwithstanding  affairs 
seemed  so  quiet  to  us.  We  judged,  in  some 
measure,  of  the  activity  of  our  armies  by  the 
number  of  prisoners  who  were  captured  by 
the  enemy.  More  or  less  of  these  determined 
the  quantity  and  quality  of  movement,  inas 
much  as  signs  are  often  the  full  expression  of 
language  that  is  not  written.  Wood  was 
issued  to  us  about  this  period,  the  first  time 
since  the  30th  of  June,  and  then  we  were 
only  given  two  sticks  for  the  whole  "ninety." 
We  made  up  our  minds  that  one  thing  was 
certain, — "generosity"  was  not  a  distinguish 
ing  feature  of  the  Southern  character ;  and  it 
revived  the  wish  in  all  its  intensity,  that  the 
time  might  not  be  far  distant  when  we  would 
be  out  of  the  clutches  of  these  miscreants. 
With  what  fervor  did  we  exclaim,  "Oh  that 
we  could  once  more  abide  in  the  land  of  the 
'  mudsills,'  '  greasy  mechanics/  and  '  Black  Re 
publicans'!"  We  would  willingly  have  bade 


LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  221 

adieu  to  the  warm-hearted  hospitality  of  the 
South,  of  which  so  much  had  been  cited,  and 
turned  our  feet  towards  a  less  pretentious 
region. 

The  14th  was  the  Sabbath, — the  time  for 
Sabbath  School  Concert  at  home,  and  we 
knew  we  should  not  be  forgotten  in  that  gath 
ering.  Having  faith  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer, 
we  hoped  their  petitions  for  us  might  be  speed 
ily  answered  in  our  deliverance  from  this  liv 
ing  death.  That  day  we  took  the  last  look  of 

another  of  our  boys,- — Jimmy  B ,  of  Co. 

A.  He  had  joined  our  regiment  but  a  short 
time  previous  to  its  capture,  and  was  young 
and  inexperienced.  A  few  days  before,  he 
had  told  me  in  conversation  that  he  thought 
he  should  live  to  get  home,  and  asked  about 
some  rules  of  diet  which  it  might  be  best  to 
observe,  should  he  find  himself  in  the  midst 
of  plenty  again.  He  was  possessed  with  a  pas 
sionate  longing  for  a  turkey, — "a  large  one," 
he  said;  and  he  seemed  to  anticipate  much  in 
looking  forward  to  the  comforts  arid  luxuries 
which  home  might  furnish  for  him.  Appa 
rently  it  was  a  bright  vision  for  him,  to  think 


222  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

of  his  mother  preparing  these  nice  things ; 
but  they  were  all  ended,  and  loving  hands 
could  no  more  minister  unto  him. 

The  sun  rose  on  the  folio w ing  morning, 
bringing  the  long-looked-for  day  which  was  to 
present  to  our  eager  gaze  the  grateful  specta 
cle  of  several  thousand  prisoners  leaving  for 
our  lines  on  parole, — at  least,  it  was  the  prom 
ised  day.  Slowly  the  hours  passed  away  to 
the  anxious  multitude ;  and  what  was  worse, 
they  came  and  went,  without  bringing  any 
change.  We  had  known  enough  in  the  past, 
to  teach  us  not  to  be  too  sanguine,  but  hope 
will  hang  on  a  slender  thread  sometimes,  and 
for  this  reason  we  had  allowed  the  saying  of 
the  papers  to  have  some  weight  with  us.  One 
of  tfte  rebel  surgeons,  or  one  in  name,  scarcely 
so  in  reality,  told  me  that  the  press  was  con 
trolled  by  their  government,  and  they  could 
not  themselves  believe  half  they  read.  Is  this 
the  boasted  independence  for  which  they  are 
fighting  ?  was  my  mental  query.  About 
'twenty  prisoners  came  in  through  the  day. 
The  number  had  been  gradually  diminishing 
for  some  little  time,  so  that  at  this  period 


LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  223 

comparatively  few  made  their  entrance  to 
gether. 

Whether  the  sight  of  our  misery  was  ai> 
tractive  to  the  rebels,  or  something  else  influ 
enced  them,  we  could  not  say,  but  some  pho 
tographic  artists  came  from  Macon,  and  taking 
their  position  in  sentry-boxes  at  different  points 
around  the  stockade,  they  proceeded  to  engrave 
our  wretchedness  by  art.  It  might  have  been 
by  order  of  the  authorities,  or  simply  a  private 
enterprise,  but  we  thought  we  would  have 
liked  one  of  the  pictures  to  show  to  our  friends, 
and  to  look  at,  if  we  should  ever  be  away  from 
the  miserable  scenes  themselves.  They  cer 
tainly  would  be  daguerreotyped  upon  faithful 
memory  as  long  as  we  should  live,  but  no 
words  or  touch  of  pen  could  give  any  sem 
blance  of  the  reality  to  others. 

SCURVY 

began  to  be  fearfully  prevalent.  We  had  had 
no  vegetables  given  to  us  since  wre  entered  in 
April,  and  we  were  without  money  to  buy 

any.     Sergeant   L ,   who   had   been  in 

command  of  the  "ninety"  ever  since  we  had 


224  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

been  in  prison,  became  so  disabled  by  the  dis 
ease  in  his  ankles  and  feet,  as  to  render  him  un 
fit  to  perform  the  duty  of  drawing  rations ;  and 
being  yet  free  from  it  myself,  I  took  his  place. 
This  is  the  form  which  the  disease  often  takes, 
so  contracting  the  cords  of  the  limbs  as  to 
deprive  the  sufferer  of  the  power  to  walk. 
Again  it  will  be  seen  in  the  swelling  of  the 
different  parts  of  the  body,  and  still  again  in 
the  decaying  of  the  gums  and  loosening  of 
the  teeth.  Hundreds  of  poor  fellows  lost  their 
lives  by  this  disease  alone.  Nearly  the  whole 
of  our  regiment  were  more  or  less  affected  by 
it.  Perhaps  the  stories  of  exchange,  which 
were  in  almost  daily  circulation,  did  something 
to  sustain  some  of  the  men,  who  were  expect 
ing  and  fearing  the  unchecked  workings  of 
that  terrible  scourge. 

A  little  different  version  of  things  was 
started  by  some  who  professed  to  know  some 
thing  about  it,  to  the  effect  that  an  article 
deemed  of  considerable  authority  was  to  be 
cut  from  the  paper,  and  posted  upon  the  let 
ter-box,  where  we  might  see  it.  Curiosity,  of 
course,  was  on  the  alert,  to  discover  the  pecul- 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  225 

iarities  of  the  case ;  but  it  turned  out  to  be 
the  identical  piece  which  the  Confederate 
Chaplain  had  read  to  us  with  so  much  dignity 
the  first  of  the  month,  and  we  concluded  it 
would  hardly  pay  to  become  much  excited 
over  it. 

In  the  midst  of  these  things,  one  of  the  boys 
who  had  been  at  work  without  the  stockade, 
brought  in  the  gratifying  intelligence  that 
there  was  a  large  quantity  of  letters  from  the 
North  at  the  office  of  Captain  Wirz,  and  that 
probably  they  would  be  brought  in  soon. 
How  our  hearts  bounded  with  joy  at  the  pos 
sibility  of  hearing  from  home  once  more !  A 
perfect  fever  of  expectation  seized  us  all,  for 
who  would  be  the  favored  ones,  and  what 
would  be  the  character  of  that  which  we 
should  hear?  How,  too,  should  those  bear 
the  disappointment  that  would  be  passed  by 
with  no  word  or  message  from  those  their 
hearts  were  with  ?  News  of  some  sort  I  did 
find,  however,  as  I  went  over  into  the  prison- 
extension  to  visit  a  friend  of  the  7th  P.  V's 
lEe  had  a  copy  of  the  "Macon  Telegram,"  and 
I  learned  from  it  that  Maj.  Gen.  Hunter  had 


22'G  LIFE   IN   REBEL    PRISONS. 

been  relieved  by  Gen.  Sheridan,  and  that 
Gen.  Grant's  campaign  had  proved  a  failure, 
although  something  whispered  to  me,  in 
regard  to  the  latter,  "they  had  better  wait  until 
they  see  the  end  of  it,  before  making  such  a 
confident  declaration."  It  had,  also,  an  article 
commenting  upon  the  "disgraceful  and  humil 
iating  surrender"  of  the  forts  at  Mobile. 
Doubtless,  the  Confederate  heart  was  some 
what  tried  by  the  course  things  took  in  the 
matter. 

For  once,  our  rations  increased  a  little,  and 
were  of  better  quality  than  usual.  Informa 
tion  also  came  to  us,  through  the  rebel  Quar 
ter-master,  that  he  was  about  to  commence 
issuing  sweet  potatoes,  and  that  he  woidd  soon 
make  us  as  sick  of  those  as  we  were  then  of 
beans,  and  this,  we  thought,  would  be  no  hard 
matter,  if  they  were  cooked  in  the  same  filthy 
way.  The  rebels  claimed  that  iron  wire  was 
so  very  scarce,  that  they  could  not  procure 
enough  to  make  the  necessary  sieves  with 
which  to  clean  their  beans,  before  cooking, 
and  therefore  we  must  eat  them  as  they  were, 
dirt,  pods,  sticks  and  all. 


LIFE  IN   11EBEL   I'KISONS.  227 

-  , 

In  addition  to  the  other  sensation  stories 
which  were  in  circulation,  was  another,  that 
the  rebels  had  asked  again  for  an  armistice  in 
which  to  treat  for  peace,  this  time  to  consist 
of  thirty  days,  and  that  our  government  had 
granted  it.  We  could  not  believe  that  the 
Northern  people  were  so  very  inconsiderate 
as  to  allow  them  such  a  resting  spell  at  the 
time  when  they  seemed  in  a  fair  way  to  be 
conquered.  The  way  for  them  to  obtain 
peace,  it  seemed  to  us  then,  was  the  one  and 
only  way  we  had  always  maintained, — and 
that  was  to  lay  down  the  weapons  of  their 
rebellion,  and  submit  to  our  lawfully  elected 
administration.  We  must  conquer  our  peace 
if  we  would  have  it  real  and  lasting.  We 
had  known  four  months  of  imprisonment  for 
the  cause,  and  we  would  not  have  it  lost 

Death  was  rioting  among  the  strongest 
men  in  our  regiment,  making  no  distinction 
between  trie  stronger  and  the  weaker.  We 
wondered  if  another  month  would  find  us 
there  still,  but  we  felt  like  saying, 

11  Conquer  we  must, 
For  our  cause  it  itjutt, 
And  this  bo  our  motto, 


228  LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS. 

Capt.  Wirz,  our  inhuman  prison  command 
ant,  was  taken  sick  about  this  time,  and  went 
to  Macon.  Various  were  the  wishes  of  the 
men  as  they  heard  it,  but  the  mildest  form 
they  took  was,  that  he  might  never  recover. 
He'  was  succeeded,  temporarily,  by  Lieut.  S.  B. 
Davis,  and  from  all  that  we  could  learn  of 
him,  we  thought  the  change  might  be  much 
to  our  advantage,  as  he  would  probably  be 
more  humane  in  his  treatment  of  us.  He 
had  the  reputation  of  being  a  good  officer 
among  the  men  who  knew  him,  and  the 
rations  which  followed  his  inauguration  were 
certainly  larger  and  better,  and  indicated  a 
heart  little  larger  than  that  which  dwelt  in 
the  bosom  of  his  predecessor.  The  day  before, 
we  only  had  a  little  corn-bread,  without  meat 
or  salt,  and  now  came  fresh  beef,  bacon,  beans, 
bread  and  molasses.  These  things,  which  may 
seem  of  little  consequence  to  some,  were, 
nevertheless,  of  vital  importance  to  us,  who 
were  suffering  from  the  privations  we  had 
endured.  The  slightest  addition  to  our  com 
fort,  in  any  way,  was  highly  prized.  To  secure 
a  little  more,  externally,  it  became  necessary  to 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  229 

remodel  our  little  tent,  which  was  sadly  out  of 
repair.  The  blankets  were  worn  a  great  deal, 
on  the  side  exposed  to  the  rain  and  sun,  so 
we  turned  them  and  put  the  other  side  out, 
and  when  it  was  completed,  we  found  our 
selves  in  possession  of  quite  a  stylish  resi 
dence,  compared  with  those  who  had  no  cover 
ing  at  all. 

The  prison  was  visited  at  this  time  by  a 
foppishly  decorated 

CONFEDERATE    CAPTAIN. 

As  he  stepped  around  very  daintily,  in  his 
patent  leather  boots,  he  professed  to  feel 
"quite  shocked"  at  the  horrible  condition  of 
affairs  which  he  saw.  It  was  very  evident 
that  he  counted  himself  something  on  an 
argument,  for  he  began  to  discuss  slavery  and 
the  war,  with  an  air  of  wonderful  dignity, 
little  imagining,  probably,  that  he  would  find 
any  one  in  the  ragged,  dirty,  uncouth  crowd 
of  listeners  before  him,  who  would  venture  to 
dispute  his  opinions.  He  was*  greatly  mis 
taken,  however,  for  some  of  his  hearers 
advanced  better  arguments  entirely,  soon 
worsting  him,  and  driving  him  from  the  field, 


230  LIFE   IN    REBEL    PRISONS. 

perhaps  with  the  thought  that,  though  the 
external  condition  of  persons  may  not  be  pre 
possessing,  yet 

"A  man's  a  man  for  a'  that." 

Our  knowledge  of  things,  now,  was  mainly 
gathered  from  such  as  called  upon  us,  and 
from  the  southern  papers  which  we  occasion 
ally  saw,  for  prisoners  had  ceased  to  come  in 
as  frequently  as  in  the  past.  From  the  latter 
we  learned  that  Jonesboro,  on  the  Macon  and 
Augusta  railroad,  was  held  by  a  large  force  of 
Federals,  with  the  intention  of  causing  the 
rebel  army  to  fall  back  from  the  position  it 
was  then  occupying.  It  was  also  stated  that 
a  large  body  of  cavalry  and  mounted  infantry 
were  marching  on  Milledgeville,  with  ultimate 
designs  upon  our  place.  "Well,  let  them 
come,"  we  said,  but  yet  feared  we  should 
never  see  them.  There  was  a  little  appear 
ance  of  something  being  done  in  our  midst. 
Quite  a  large  number  of  Sergeants,  holding 
officers'  commissions,  but  who  had  never  been 
mustered  in  as  such,  were  taken  outside,  and 
we  were  told  by  the  rebels  they  were  des 
tined  to  our  lines  for  exchange.  Two  of  the 


LIFE    IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  231" 

Plymouth  men  were  among  the  number. 
This  seemed  a  favorable  indication  for  the 
rest  of  us,  for  surely,  we  thought,  the  govern 
ment  w^ould  not  exchange  the  officers,  who 
fare  better  than  we  do,  and  leave  us  to  die  by 
inches. 

Much  to  my  disgust,  I  found  on  the  morn 
ing  of  the  23d,  that  the  scurvy  had  at  last 
got  hold  of  me.  I  had  been  hoping  that  it 
would  pass  me  by,  in  its  visitations,  but  it  was 
unmistakably  present  in  my  mouth.  I  went 
up  to  the  sick-call,  and  was  prescribed  for 
by  the  Surgeon,  the  first  time  since  I  had 
entered,  and  in  consequence,  at  night  I  was  to 
receive  about  a  table  spoonful  of  sumach  ber 
ries,  the  usual  remedy  for  the  disease,  the  tea 
made  of  it  being  very  sour  and  astringent. 

Meantime,  a  few  sailors  came  in,  who  had 
been  captured  at  Mobile.  "  How  is  Mobile  ?" 
we  asked. .  "  That's  all  right ;  we'll  have  it  in 
a  week,"  was  the  reply.  This,  of  course,  gave 
a  momentary  impulse  to  languid  courage,  but 
with  such  a  dreadful  disease  staring  us  in  the 
face,  we  could  do  nothing  less  than  dwell  upon 
the  probabilities  of  deliverance  in  our  own 


232  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

case.  We  could  hope  for  little  improvement 
where  we  were,  but  as  diversion  of  mind 
often  tends  to  physical  advantage,  we  availed 
ourselves  of  everything  that  was  offered,  to 
secure  this.  One  of  my  comrades,  by  some 
means,  became  the  possessor  of  "Woodbury's 
Shorter  Course  in  German,"  and  I  began  to 
study  that  language,  or  rather,  re-commenced 
it,  as  I  had  been  engaged  in  its  acquisition  at 
the  time  of  our  capture.  This  book  was  a 
perfect  treasure,  and  with  it  I  passed  many 
an  otherwise  dull  hour,  agreeably  and  profita 
bly. 

Lieut.  Davis,  our  new  commandant,  did 
institute  a  better  order  of  things.  Our  food 
was  better  every  way,  and  beside,  he  issued 
an  order,  requiring  the  prison  to  be  kept 
clean.  The  order  was  posted  in  different 
parts  of  the  prison,  so  that  all  could  see  it, 
and  avail  themselves  of  its  privileges.  He 
furnished  us  with  the.  requisite  tools  to  per 
form  the  work  assigned  to  us,  and  it  was 
something  so  unusual  to  see  our  enemies 
taking  even  a  slight  interest  in  our  comfort, 
we  ardently  hoped  that  Capt.  Wirz  would 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  233 

never  make  liis  appearance  again,  for  he 
would  never  do  as  much  for  us  as  we  were 
having  done  then.  With  his  second  advent 
we  knew  would  come  anew,  misery  and  starva 
tion,  for  his  active  mind  would  probably 
devise  new  methods,  while  he  was  lying  by, 
to  enhance  our  sorrow,  if  he  should  return. 

We  deemed  it  no  wonder  that  so  many  of 
our  men  died.  The  wonder,  rather,  was  that 
any  lived.  At  roll-call  on  the  morning  of  the 
twenty-sixth,  thirty-two  in  our  squad  of  ninety 
men  were  too  sick  to  stand  up  in  the  ranks  to 
be  counted.  If  they  had  been  in  our  lines, 
they  would  have  been  sent  to  the  hospital, 
received  the  tenderest  care,  and  the  most  deli 
cate  food,  but  there,  it  was  the  same  coarse 
bread  and  greasy  bacon,  for  sick  and  well 
alike.  Sorghum  molasses  was  an  article  they 
seemed  to  have  in  great  plenty,  and  this  was 
often  dispensed  to  us. 

I  recovered  from  the  influence  of  the  first 
day  with  the  scurvy,  so  as  to  feel  quite  well 
again,  and,  indeed,  it  seemed  quite  necessary 
that  I  should  keep  up,  since  I  was  the  only 
well  man,  with  one  exception,  in  "our  family" 


234  LIFE  IN  REBEL  PRISONS. 

of  eleven.  The  rest  were  either  lame  or  sick. 
We  hoped  much  from  a  change  in  the  atmos 
phere,  as  the  weather  was  growing  clearer  and 
cooler,  and  might  induce  a  better  state  of 
health  in  the  camp  generally. 

Two  or  three  hundred  men  from  Sherman  s 
army  came  in  during  these  days,  to  take  board 
in  our  extensive  establishment.  "Twenty-six 
States  of  the  old  Union,"  they  boasted,  "were 
represented  in  the  prison  at  Andersonville." 
It  certainly  revealed  the  fact  then,  that  there 
were  Union-loving  men  in  States  they  had 
claimed  their  own, — men  who  were  willing  to 
run  the  risk  of  great  privations,  and  of  even 
life  itself,  that  they  might  be  instrumental,  if 
possible,  in  restoring  what  had  been  ruthlessly 
cut  off  Whether  they  thought  of  this  amid 
their  boastings  or  not,  we  can  not  say;  but 
History  may  suggest  the  thought  to  them  in 
coming  time,  if  they  live  to  see  it. 

The  entrance  of  these  prisoners,  and  occa 
sional  news  concerning  exchange,  were  the 
prominent  matters  to  break  the  monotony  of 
our  life  during  the  latter  part  of  this  month. 
When  the  Sabbath  came,  we  would  indulge  in 


LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  235 

extra  day-dreams  of  "Home,  sweet  home,"  and 
perhaps  the  prayer  went  up  with  still  more  of 
fervor,  "  God  grant  we  may  not  be  doomed  to 
disappointment  again." 

Quite  the  last  of  the  month,  within  the  last 
day  or  two,  it  was  said  that  our  Government 
had  really  accepted  the  proposals  made  by  the 
South  in  regard  to  exchange.  The  all-absorb 
ing  question  in  connection  with  it  was,  "What 
are  the  conditions  upon  which  the  South  is 
willing  to  do  this?"  The  rebel  officers  all 
agreed  in  saying  that  they  only  required  man 
for  man  and  officer  for  officer  according  to 
rank.  This,  certainly,  did  not  seem  unfair; 
and  if  true,  we  could  not  imagine  why  our 
release  was  not  secured.  "Can  it  be,"  we 
would  ask  among  ourselves,  "  that  our  Govern 
ment  is  not  aware  of  our  suffering  condition?" 
If  they  were,  there  must  be  very  strong  rea 
sons  against  exchange,  or  they  would  not  leave 
so  many  of  us  to  be  sacrificed  in  our  pestilen 
tial  prison-pen. 

Another  canard  in  circulation  also,  was  to 
the  effect  that  Yice-President  A.  H.  Stephens, 
Gov.  Brown,  and  one  other,  had  gone  on  to 


236  LIFE   IN    REBEL    PRISONS. 

Washington,  bearing  proposals  for  peace ;  but 
we  believed  less  of  this  than  the  other. 

While  ruminating  upon  these  things,  M -, 

the  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  Prison  Command 
ant,  came  in  on  a  pass,  bringing  with  him  the 
unwelcome  intelligence  that  Capt.  Wirz,  our 
old  tormentor,  was  back  again  from  Macon, 
and  in  command  again,  so  we  had  nothing  to 
look  for  but  a  return  of  our  old  regime.  He 
also  told  us  that  he  overheard  the  rebel  offi 
cers  say  that  an  army  corps  had  left  Sherman, 
with  fifteen  days'  rations,  for  an  unknown 
point;  but  it  was  the  opinion  of  Captain 
Wii  z  that  they  were  destined  to  strike  a  blow 
for  us.  Thus,  like  guilty  persons,  always  fear 
ing  detection,  did  these  men  in  authority  con 
tinually  fear  the  advance  of  our  troops  upon 
them.  No  considerable  portion  could  move  in 
any  direction,  but  they  supposed  it  to  be  with 
evil  intent  upon  them. 

Quite  a  number  of  letters  came  in  on  the 
1st  of  September,  for  the  boys  of  our  regi 
ment.  They  were  all  from  home,  but  con 
tained  nothing  but  domestic  "news.  One  of 
our  number  passed  beyond  the  boundaries  of 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  237 

time  in  the  morning :  G ,  of  Co.  A.     His 

brother,  an  old  prisoner,  who  belonged  to  an 
other  regiment,  died  a  few  days  before.  The 
next  day,  still  another  died  after  a  long  sick 
ness.  The  boys  who  carried  out  his  body  to 
the  dead-house,  learned  that  another  of  the 
same  company  was  also  lying  dead.  Our  reg 
iment  was  getting  sadly  thinned,  and  we  said 
in  our  sorrow,  "  God  only  knows  how  many  of 
us  will  live  to  tell  the  sad  tale."  The  charge 
of  the  "ninety"  devolved  upon  me,  as  the 
other  sergeants  had  become  too  feeble  to 
discharge  their  wonted  duties.  It  would  keep 
me  busy  nearly  the  whole  day  drawing  rations 
and  cooking  for  the  poor  sick  boys  who  were 
unable  to  cook  for  themselves.  As  if  we  had 
not  enough  already,  some  sick  and  wounded 
ones  were  sent  in  from  Macon,  and  a  few  so- 
called  convalescents  were  sent  in  from  the 
hospital  to  the  prison,  that  room  might  be 
made  for  them  there. 

The  idea  of  "thinning  out"  was  started,  and 
one  of  the  men  who  worked  outside  brought 
it  in  to  us.  The  plan,  he  said,  was  in  contem 
plation,  to  remove  about  eighteen  thousand 


238  LIFE   IN   REBEL    PRISONS. 

of  us  to  some  other  prison.  Any  change,  we 
thought,  would  be  agreeable,  although  it  were 
nothing  more  than  a  change  in  prisons. 
Among  other  things,  he  learned  that  General 
Winder  had  been  relieved  from  command,  by 
a  person  with  a  queer  name,  which  he  could 
not  remember,  but  whom  the  rebels  declared 
a  "better  man."  Of  one  thing  we  were  cer 
tain,  that  he  could  not  be  much  worse.  But 
we  had  known  even  Gen.  Winder  to  do  one 

KIND  ACT. 

One  of  the  Plymouth  prisoners  was  an  old 
citizen,  who  had  been  chief  clerk  for  the  Post 
Quartermaster  at  that  place,  and  in  former  and 
more  prosperous  days  a  captain  in  the  regular 
army ;  even  holding,  at  one  time,  a  position 
upon  this  same  Gen.  Winder's  staff.  He  was 
very  much  respected  where  he  was  known, 
and  almost  every  body  in  Plymouth  knew 
Capt.  Everett.  He  was  put  into  prison  with 
the  rest  of  us,  and  was  finally  taken  sick,  the 
hardships  of  his  confinement  proving  too 
much  for  his  age.  When  Gen.  Winder  learned 
the  condition  of  the  man  who  had  once  been 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  239 

associated  with  him,  he  took  him  out  of  his 
miserable  place  and  gave  him  good  care,  pro 
viding  medical  attendance  and  better  food 
than  he  would  otherwise  have  had.  But  it 
was  too  late.  The  old  Captain  died,  yet  he 
had  a  respectable  Christian  burial;  and  this 
convinced  us  that  there  was  one  soft  spot  in 
the  heart  of  the  Rebel  General,  after  all. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  4th,  I  was 
aroused  from  my  sleep  by  one  of  the  boys, 
who  gave  me  the  sad  news  that  Orderly  Ser 
geant  L ,  of  Co.  C,  was  dead,  at  the 

same  time  requesting  me  to  break  tliQ  mourn 
ful  truth  to  his  brother,  who  held  a  corres 
ponding  position  in  another  company.  It  was 
a  hard  task  to  go  and  do  this,  but  I  did  it. 
Elder  Shepard  conducted  a  very  touching  and 
beautiful  funeral  service  over  the  body  before 
it  was  carried  out.  The  afflicted  brother  was 
present,  and  though  he  said  ^but  little,  we  all 
knew  that  silent  grief  was  at  work,  and  we 
deeply  sympathized  with  him. 

It  was  a  calm  Sabbath  day,  and  our  friends 
at  home  were  probably  enjoying  it;  but  we 
were  suffering — dying.  Soon  after  this  we 


210  LIFE   IN    REBEL    PRISONS. 

had  a  death  in  our  own  tent.  One  of  our 
comrades,  who  had  been  with  us  ever  since 
the  regiment  first  went  out,  passed  away,  after 
an  illness  of  just  two  weeks.  A  night  or  two 
before  his  departure,  when  he  was  very  feeble, 
he  said  to  me,  "If  I  could  only  live  just  to  see 
my  wife  and  mother,  I  could  die  happy ;  but 
to  die  here,  far  away  from  home,  and  to  be 
buried  here, — I  tell  you,  Robert,  it  is  tough  ! " 
And  it  was.  None  but  those  who  were  there 
could  realize  it  in  all  its  terrible  earnestness. 
They  were  scenes  that  could  not  be  imagined, 
and  only  endured  with  patience  and  cheerful 
ness  by  those  who  had  such  faith  as  to  bear 
them  aloft  above  earth,  where  they  could 
catch  a  glimpse  of  the 

"Sweet  fields  beyond  the  swelling  flood," 

which 

"Stand  dressed  in  living  green." 

It  was  said  on  the  6th,  that  a  general  ex 
change  of  prisoners  had  been  agreed  upon, 
and  it  was  accompanied  by  orders  for  the  first 
eighteen  detachments  to  be  ready  to  move  at 
any  moment  after  twelve  o'clock  at  night. 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  241 

This  really  looked  ;is  if  it  might  amount  to 
something,  and  we  hoped  the 

DAY   OF   DELIVERANCE 

had  at  last  come.  All  was  rejoicing  and  hurry 
and  bustle  in  the  detachments  that  were  or 
dered  to  be  ready.  Indeed,  the  whole  prison 
was  in  a  furore  of  joyous  excitement  Every 
body  was  talking  over  with  his  neighbor  the 
probability  of  the  reality  of  the  movement, 
but  most  of  them  were  quite  certain  that  this 
was  surely  the  first  true  step  towards  exchange. 
The  next  morning  our  eyes  did  indeed  behold 
a  joyful  sight.  Seven  detachments,  or  over 
eighteen  hundred  men,  were  taken  out  of 
prison  and  put  on  board  cars,  and  in  all  proba 
bility  they  were  bound  for  our  lines.  The 
orders  to  many  more  were,  to  "be  ready  to 
leave,"  and  it  would  come  our  turn  soon. . 
What  exultation  was  kindled  at  the  prospect ! 

It  seemed  hard  that  H could  not  have 

lived  to  go  with  us,  but  it  was  not  for  us  to 
question  God's  doings.  Evans,  another  of  our 
number,  was  very  sick,  and  we  feared  he 
might  die  before  our  turn  should  come.  We 


242  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

were  not  counted  in  the  morning,  and  we 
indulged  in  the  blissful  thought  that  we 
should  be  no  more  troubled  in  that  way,  for 
the  officers  over  us  had  been  heard  to  declare 
that  the  prison  was  finally  to  be  left  empty. 
That  night,  at  one  o'clock,  or  rather  morning, 
they  began  taking  out  more  detachments,  and 
at  daylight  the  opposite  hill-side  looked  quite 
bare.  When  the  light  of  the  morning  dawned, 
poor  Evans  was  no  longer  an  inhabitant  of 
earth.  He  was  ready  and  willing  to  go,  and 
his  last  message  to  his  friends  at  home  was, 
"tell  them  I  was  prepared  to  die."  It  was  sor 
rowful  indeed  to  see  our  comrades  dying,  even 
when  the  work  of  exchange  was  going  on. 
Some  of  the  detachments  who  went  out  in 
the  morning  came  in  again  in  the  afternoon 
to  wait  until  more  cars  should  arrive.  They 
said  they  were  allowed  to  have  their  liberty, 
and  do  about  as  they  pleased  while  outside, 
and  that  only  two  guards  went  on  each  car  of 
the  train  that  had  already  left.  Some  would 
not,  even  now,  believe  that  the  movement 
meant  exchange,  and  persisted  in  saying,  "It's 
all  humbug,"  although  the  Confederate  offi- 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  243 

cers,  without  exception,  assured  us  that 
we  wrere  going  home,  and  that  they  had 
not  another  prison  large  enough  to  put  us  in, 
if  they  wished  to.  If  they  were  really 
attempting  a  transfer,  and  nothing  else,  we 
thought  they  would  have  placed  a  larger 
guard  in  attendance.  Everything  looked 
favorable  to  our  hopes,  but  we  had  so  many 
times  been  disappointed  in  these,  we  could 
hardly  believe  they  were  to  be  realized,  even 
when  the  door  was  open  for  us.  It  seemed 
to  us  high  time  for  a  change  of  some  sort,  for 
for  wre  were  drawing  only  a  little  coarse  corn 
meal  and  a  scrap  of  raw  fresh  beef  for  our 
rations.  The  next  morning  one  of  the  boys 
who  had  deserted  from  the  rebel  service,  and 
had  been  with  us  ever  since  we  were  captured, 
died.  When  Plymouth  surrendered  a  number 
of  the 

LOYAL   NORTH  CAROLINIANS, 

of  the  2d  regiment  of  that  State,  were  taken 
with  us.  The  rebels  were  very  bitter  against 
these  "buffaloes,"  as  they  called  them,  for  many 
of  them  had  been  on  their  side,  and  left  it  for 
the  service  of  the  Union.  These  men  had 


244  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

suffered  almost  everything  at  the  hands  of 
those  they  refused  to  serve,  and  they  felt  for 
them  corresponding  hatred.  To  avoid  detec 
tion,  many  of  them  assumed  different  names? 
and  passed  off  as  members  of  our  regiment,  or 
some  others.  Some  of  them  were  afterwards 
discovered  by  the  "rebs,"  but  a  number  went 
into  prison  with  us  as  Connecticut,  Pennsylva 
nia  or  New  York  men,  and  we  did  everything 
in  our  power  to  help  them,  and  prevent  them 
from  being  found  out.  It  was  one  of  those 
who  fell,  a  victim  to  disease,  that  morning. 

Over  twelve  hundred  men  went  out  before 
sunset,  and  a  large  number  had  the  promise 
of  being  taken  out  before  morning.  Seven 
of  our  "ninety"  succeeded  in  "flanking  out" 
with  the  detachments  who  went  out  the 
night  before,  and  others,  encouraged  by  their 
example,  went  up  to  the  gate  with  these, 
hoping  to  find  a  more  speedy  release  in  this 
way.  The  next  day  we  waited  impatiently 
for  orders  to  move,  and  at  twilight,  or  near 
the  close  of  the  day,  our  wishes  were  gratified. 
We  were  drawing  rations,  and  a  rebel  Ser 
geant  came  down  with  the  welcome  informa- 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  245 

tion  that  our  a ninety"  must  be  ready  imme 
diately,  and  take  their  position  in  line  near 
the  prison  gate.  We  had  very  little  baggage, 
of  course,  to  care  for,  and  in  a  very  few 
moments  we  were  waiting  to  go  out.  We 
were  all  in  a  tremor  of  excitement.  To  think 
that  we  were  really  going  to  leave  that  horri 
ble  place,  was  enough  to  fill  our  hearts  with 
deepest  joy.  There  was  one  drawback  to  our 
happiness,  however,  caused  by  being  com 
pelled  to  leave  two  of  our  number,  who  were 
sick,  and  altogether  unable  to  be  moved.  We 
tried  to  cheer  them  by  telling  them  they 
would  probably  come  along  in  a  few  days, 
and  meantime  they  would  receive  better  care 
than  if  they  went  with  us,  but  when  we 
finally  bade  them  farewell,  we  were  very  sad, 
for  it  seemed  to  us  the  last  tune  we  should 
ever  exchange  a  word  with  them,  and  it  was 
manifest  that  a  like  feeling  was  theirs  also. 
We  had  suffered  so  long  together;  so  long 
shared  each  other's  trials  and  misfortunes,  we 
loved  each  other  as  brothers,  and  it  was  hard 
to  leave  them,  but  there  was  no  other  alterna 
tive.  While  these  things  were  passing  through 


246  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

the  mind,  we  were  suddenly  diverted  by  the 
cry,  "there  they  go,"  and  sure  enough  the  line 
had  commenced  to  move,  and  we  were  to  pass 
out  that  gate  that  had  been  closed  against  us 
so  many  weary  months.     Many,  very  many, 
who  had  gone  in  with  us  at  the  beginning, 
were  now  no  more,  but  a  sigh  and  a  tear  was 
all  the  tribute  we  could  leave  them  then.    We 
had  ministered  to  them  in  sickness,  and  closed 
their  eyes  at  the   last,  and  each  had  a  place  in 
memory,   but   nothing   more  could  be   done. 
The   place  we  were  leaving  was  one    about 
which   the    saddest    associations   would    ever 
cluster;  not  wholly  because  so  many  of  our 
brothers-in-arms  had  found  the  prison  gate  the 
gate  of  death,  but   there  were   other  things 
combined  to  make  us  shudder  at  the  remem 
brance.     Taunts,  insult  and  abuse  in  almost 
every  possible  form  had  been  heaped  upon  us, 
and  the  impression  of  this   could  never  be 
effaced. 

But  before  we  proceed  any  further  in  our 
narrative,  and  in  order  to  give  a  complete 
history  of  affairs  at  Andersonville,  we  insert 
a  chapter  relative  to  the  Hospital  department. 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  247 

For  information  concerning  this,  we  are 
indebted  to  the  following  testimony  of  Hiram 
Buckingham,  Quarter-Master  Sergeant  of  our 
own  regiment,  who  was  detailed  as  hospital 
steward,  or  Doctor's  clerk,  and  consequently 
was  well  fitted  to  give  a  just  description  of 
the  inner  and  outer  condition  of  that  melan 
choly  place. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

HOSPITAL    AT   ANDERSON VILLE. 

THOUSANDS  throughout  our  country  have  a 
personal  interest  in  this  ill-fated  spot,  for 
thither,  husbands,  sons  and  brothers  were  car 
ried,  to  finish  their  earthly  course ;  their 
career  as  patriots  and  soldiers,  and  there, 
within  a  short  distance,  their  bones  lie,  as  it 
may  seem  to  some,  a  lost  contribution  to 
national  honor,  but  to  many,  far  otherwise. 
Though  no  monument  of  granite  ever  mark 
the  place  where  these  heroes  lie,  telling  of 
the  mighty  sacrifice  that  was  made  there,  yet 
that  spot  in  Georgia  soil  will  be  forever  conse- 


"248  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

crated,  in  countless  homes  in  every  part  of 
our  land,  and  who  shall  intimate  the  power 
and  extent  of  that  influence  that  shall  go 
forth  from  these  to  awaken  the  fire  of  patriot 
ism  in  other  hearts,  bidding  them  "  go  and  do 
likewise,"  if  need  be.  Indignation,  too,  will 
fan  the  flame,  for  the  sad  conviction  is  forced 
upon  the  minds  of  people  that,  were  it  not  for 
utter  neglect  and  inhumanity,  thousands  of 
valuable  lives  might  have  been  spared  that 
are  now  forever  lost  to  friends  and  country  by 
this  one  cause.  It"  is  a  tearful  history — a  sad 
record,  and  many  will  shrink  from  the  revolt 
ing  details  here  given,  but  it  is  confidently 
asserted  that  there  are  none  of  these  state 
ments  but  will  be  corroborated  by  every  one 
who  had  the  misfortune  to  be  a  prisoner  in 
that  unhappy  locality.  "When  I  first  went 
into  the  prison,"  says  Mr.  Buckingham,  "on 
the  first  of  May,  1864,  the  hospital  was  insido 
the  stockade,  half  of  it  on  one  side  of  the 
stream  that  ran  in  our  midst,  and  half  on  the 
other  side.  The  condition  of  things  was  hor 
rible  in  the  extreme.  A  single  glimpse  of 
things  within  was  enough  to  make  a  man  sick. 


i 

LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  249 

He  could  but  turn  away  in  loathing  and  dis 
gust,  from  the  sight  of  so  much  wretchedness 
and  misery ;  so  much  filth  and  pollution. 
Most  of  the  inmates  at  that  time  were  Belle 
Island  prisoners,  who  had  endured  all  the 
hardships  of  the  previous  winter,  and  were 
worn  and  wasted  by  exposure  and  its  conse 
quent  diseases.  There  were  comparatively 
few  of  them  then,  scarcely  over  two  hundred, 
a  circumstance  accounted  for  in  two  ways. 
In  the  first  place,  a  man  never  went  in  and 
came  out  alive,  for  usually  he  was  so  low 
upon  his  admission,  that  there  was  almost 
nothing  to  hope  for,  and  in  the  second  place, 
if  a  man  had  a  friend  or  comrade  to  help  him, 
he  would  not  go  in  at  all,  for  he  preferred  to 
die  in  the  comparative  quiet  of  his  own  tent, 
surrounded  by  such  comforts  as  friendly  sym 
pathy  could  procure,  rather  than  end  his  days 
where  so  much  wretchedness  was  congregated. 
This  was  the  last  resort,  and  to  see  a  poor 
fellow  brought  in  upon  a  blanket,  was  to  con 
clude  that  his  race  was  almost  run ;  his  days 
well  nigh  ended,  and  that  there  remained 
nothing  for  him  but  to  breathe  his  life  away 


250  LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS. 

in  the  midst  of  such  misery  as  was  inconceiva 
ble  to  any  but  those  who  walked  the  melan 
choly  round  themselves.  The  utter  want  of 
cleanliness ;  the  pestilential  air ;  the  improper 
and  miserable  food,  and  scanty  medicines,  all 
combined  to  render  the  swift  coming  of  death 
sure.  One  could  expect  nothing  else  when  he 
entered.  If  by  any  possibility  one  survived 
the  shock,  and  went  forth  among  his  fellows  a 
living  man,  it  was  looked  upon  as  something 
well-nigh  miraculous.  It  was  rarely,  if  ever? 
known.  It  was  the  general  expectation,  when 
any  went  into  the  hospital,  that  it  was  the  last 
of  earth  for  them  ;  and  how  could  it  be  other 
wise  ?  Where  was  the  single  condition  that 
tended  in  the  least  degree  to  restoration? 
Where  was  the  slightest  thing  favorable  to 
anything  like  invigoration  ?  The  excellent 
condition  of  our  Northern  hospitals :  their 
comfortable  couches,  tender  nursing,  abundant 
remedies,  with  their  appropriate  stimulants 
and  delicacies,  oftentimes  win  back  the  feeble 
sufferer  to  life,  and  make  him  strong  and  well 
again;  but  not  so  there.  Pieces  of  canvas 
only  sheltered  those  poor  sick  and  dying  men 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  251 

from  the  rain  and  sun  of  a  climate  that  would 
have  been  none  too  favorable  for  them  under 
the  best  of  circumstances. 

Their  emaciated,  pain-racked  frames  had  no 
place  to  rest  but  upon  the  cold,  hard  ground, 
and  in  numberless  instances  their  heads  were 
pillowed  upon  nothing  softer  than  a  stick  of 
wood. 

The  skin  would  often  wear  away,  leaving 
their  bodies  sore,  and  these  could  not  be  cared 
for,  as  there  was  nothing  to  dress  them  with ; 
and  even  if  there  had  been,  their  necessary 
position  allowed  no  respite  in  the  acuteness  of 
their  suffering. 

Added  to  these  things,  the  sink  was  dug 
within  a  single  rod  of  these  men,  which,  of 
course,  did  not  add  to  the  purity  of  the  air 
about  them.  It  was  enough,  of  itself,  to  make 
a  man  sick, 

What  would  not  these  men  have  given  for 
a  clean  bed,  pure  air,  and  a  dish  of  something 
that  would  have  been  inviting  to  the  taste ! 
Many  of  them  had  been  unused  to  want  or 
hardship  before  they  entered  the  army,  but 
words  of  murmuring  or  complaint  were  sel- 
11 


252  LIFE  IN  REBEL   PRISONS. 

dom  heard.  Many  of  them  were  conscious  of 
having  been  moved  with  the  "sublime  inspira 
tion  of  a  great  purpose/'  when  they  enlisted 
to  fight  the  battles  of  their  country,  and  they 
took  its  chances  and  its  changes  with  heroic 
firmness. 

In  all  probability  a  great  many  lives  might 
have  been  saved,  that  have  now  been  sacri 
ficed,  had  it  not  been  for  the  barbarous  treat 
ment  to  which  they  were  subjected.  A  sad 
necessity  was  upon  us.  We  must  see  our 
men  pine  away  and  die?  while  we  were  utterly 
powerless  to  help  them.  Could  we  have  had 
the  satisfaction  of  feeling  that  everything  had 
been  done  for  them  that  could  be  done,  we 
might  have  seen  them  close  their  eyes  in 
death  with  far  different  emotions,  but  we 
could  not  escape  the  impression  that  a  vast 
amount  of  life-blood  had  been  spilled,  simply 
to  gratify  the  malice  of  a  heartless  foe,  who 
gloried  in  the  wrecks  before  them. 

About  the  first  of  June,  the  hospital  was 
completed  outside  the  stockade.  This  was  sit 
uated  about  one  hundred  rods  from  the  en- 
t^ance  to  the  latter  place,  and  occupied  fjuite 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  253 

a  pleasant  position.  Some  of  the  trees  had 
been  left  standing,  and  furnished  quite  an 
agreeable  shade.  It  was  enclosed  by  a  board 
fence  about  six  feet  high,  and  contained  about 
four  acres  of  ground.  This  was  laid  out  in 
streets  and  wards,  and  now  and  then  a  tent 
was  to  be  seen,  but  most  of  them  were  noth 
ing  but  square  pieces  of  canvas  spread  over  a 
pole,  which  formed  a  roof,  but  left  it  all  open 
below,  so  that  the  patients  were  exposed  con 
stantly  to  the  rain,  sun,  and  night  dews. 
Quite  a  stream  of  water  ran  through  one  end 
of  the  enclosure,  and  all  the  men  who  were 
able  could  repair  to  this  for  the  purpose  of 
keeping  themselves  clean.  About  a  thousand 
poor  creatures  had  refuge  there  at  that  time. 

They  began  with  an  attempt  to  keep  the 
sanitary  affairs  of  the  hospital  in  tolerable 
condition.  They  had  a  police  squad,  who 
made  their  appearance  twice  a  day  to  see  that 
the  requisite  order  was  maintained  to  secure 
this  result.  About  a  month  after  the  removal 
from  the  stockade,  they  enlarged  the  grounds 
so  that  they  could  accommodate  twenty-five 
hundred ;  and  at  its  completion,  Dr.  White, 


254  LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

Surgeon  in  charge,  admitted  seven  hundred 
men  in  one  day.  Nearly  half  of  these  could 
walk,  but  the  remainder  of  them  went  in  just 
as  they  could,  some  of  them  on  their  hands 
and  heels,  their  legs  being  so  drawn  with 
scurvy  that  they  could  not  keep  in  an  erect 
position. 

A  person  coming  in  at  such  a  time,  unused 
to  the  horrors  of  prison  life,  would  have  turned 
pale  at  the  sickening  sight  before  him.  He 
would  have  felt  things  unutterable  in  view  of 
these  half-starved,  half-clothed,  diseased  and 
wretched  beings,  who  had  once  deliberately 
clothed  themselves  in  the  uniform  which  dis 
tinguished  them  as  the  peculiar  property  of 
their  country,  but  were  now  dying  under  a 
pressure  they  had  no  power  to  resist.  History 
tells  of  bands  of  men  that  are  sent  forth, 
doomed  to  infamy  and  poverty,  wretchedness 
and  want,  because  public  opinion  where  they 
dwell  deems  it  a  just  punishment  for  what 
they  have  done.  No  sympathy  goes  with  the 
exiles,  for  society  is  better  off  without  them 
than  with  them.  Their  hard  features,  reckless 
expression  and  uncomely  visages  may  awaken 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  255 

contempt,  but  scarcely  pity,  for  they  have 
wrought  out  their  own  destiny,  by  their  own 
perverse  willfulness.  These  are  the  lawless 
ones  that  are  a  scourge  to  the  world,  and 
every  one  feels  that  it  is  a  mercy  to  be  rid  of 
them.  In  such  case  we  might  look  upon  an 
equal  amount  of  misery,  and  not  be  touched 
as  in  the  other  instance.  In  the  one  case,  it  is 
self-inflicted  and  for  base  ends ;  in  the  other, 
imposed  upon  for  devotion  to  and  action  in 
the  prosecution  of  noble  aims;  for  unselfish 
working  for  the  general  good. 

The  little  army  that  filed  in  at  the  hospital 
in  July,  at  Andersonville,  may  have  looked 
externally  like  beggars;  but  they  were  no 
convicts, — no  exiles  for  crimes  that  they  had 
done.  They  had  left  home  in  the  full  exercise 
of  every  manly  virtue,  and  society  mourned 
their  loss. 

They  were  the  pride  of  loyal  people ;  the 
light  of  countless  homes ;  the  idols  of  many 
hearts ;  and  Love  was  keeping  the  fires  bright 
upon  myriad  altars  awaiting  their  glad  return. 
One  looking  upon  them  would  have  known 
that  these  fires  would  go  out  in  darkness ;  that 


256  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

but  few,  if  any,  of  that  sickly  crowd,  would 
ever  look  again  upon  those  they  had  loved ; 
ever  see  or  hear  again  a  congenial  sight  or 
sound. 

It  was  this  that  would  have  unsealed  the 
fountain  of  tears,  and  stirred  the  heart  to 
truest  pity.  It  was  a  sad  sight, — sad  for  any 
one,  but  more  so  to  those  who  knew  what  they 
must  suffer  when  once  admitted  and  subjected 
to  the  treatment  of 

PHYSICIANS, 

many  of  whom  had  no  feeling  for  them.  All 
were  conscripts,  and  chose  the  profession  in 
which  they  were  engaged,  rather  than  shoul 
der  the  musket  and  go  to  the  front.  They 
were  allowed  eleven  dollars  a  month,  which 
was  about  equal  to  one  in  "  greenbacks,"  and 
the  government  ration  of  meat  and  bacon. 
They  availed  the  .iselves  of  the  opportunity 
to  acquaint  themselves  with  surgery,  and  were 
not  therefore  slow  in  performing  amputations 
if  they  saw  fit.  They  had  also  a  dissecting- 
house  not  very  far  distant,  where  they  contin 
ued  their  experiments. 


ANDJERSONVILLE  HOSPITAL. 


1 

« 

WARDS       1 

STREETS    ; 

2                   \19 

«/) 

3         H        \18 

f*i 
»>i 

4        ^       \17 

5\               \16 

€                 [IS 

7                 \14 

8                 \13 

9\       t      \12 

10                 \ll 

A.    WELL.                                 D    HEAD-QUARTERS  TENTS. 
B    GATE.*                                  E    DISPENSATORY. 
C    FORT.                                   F    DISSECTING  HOUSE. 

*  The  other  sides  of  the  Hospital  border  upon  Stamps. 


258  LIFE  IN   REBEL  PRISONS. 

They  commenced  their  duties  about  eight 
in  the  morning,  and  finished  about  one  in  the 
afternoon.  The  interest  which  they  felt  in 
their  work  was  manifest  in  the  manner  of 
doing  it.  They  would  stand  in  the  middle  of 
the  street,  and  with  folded  arms  ask  the  patient 
how  he  felt,  and  then  very  indifferently  tell 
the  clerk  ta  renew  the  prescriptions  of  a  pre 
vious  time.  In  justice  to  some,  however,  we 
can  say,  they  were  kind  to  the  sick  and  did 
what  they  could  for  them,  but  they  were  re 
luctant  to  go  into  the  tents  on  account  of  the 
lice  which  were  there  in  such  quantities. 

The  form  to  be  observed  before  one  could 
get  into  the  hospital  at  all,  was  a  burden  to 
the  men  who  were  already  so  feeble  they 
could  scarcely  support  the  weight  of  their 
bodies. 

Outside  was  built  a  board  fence  the  whole 
length  of  the  stockade,  and  about  three  rods 
wide,  where  the  doctors  had  the 

SICK  CALL. 

Here  they  had  a  little  shed  built  to  protect 
themselves  from  the  sun,  and  here  over  one 


LIFE    IN   REBEL    PRISONS.  259 

thousand  persons  would  come  out  daily,  hop 
ing  to  find  some  remedy  for  their  sufferings. 
A  third  of  them  would  be  brought  in  blankets 
by  their  comrades,  as  no  prescriptions  were 
given  unless  they  saw  the  patient.  The  num 
ber  then  sent  to  the  hospital  would  correspond 
with  the  vacancies  death  had  made  in  the  pre 
vious  twenty-four  hours.  These  would  have 
a  piece  of  paper,  with  their  number  and 
name,  put  upon  their  clothes,  or  in  their 
pockets,  and  it  was  not  a  strange  thing  that 
they  were  left  in  the  hot  sun  all  day,  without 
anything  to  eat,  or  water  to  drink,  and  with  a 
burning  fever  in  their  veins.  Their  sufferings, 
of  course,  were  indescribable,  and  it  was  little 
that  their  comrades  could  do  to  help  them. 
Some  of  the  physicians  were  educated  men, 
from  whose  hearts  the  law  of  human  kindness 
was  not  wholly  effaced,  but  some  were  unfit 
ted  in  every  possible  way  for  the  work 
assigned  them. 

The  Doctor  of  my  ward  was  a  Georgian,  a 
fine  fellow,  and  a  Union  man.  To  him  I  con 
fided  my  purpose  to  escape,  and  met  with  the 
assurance  that  he  would  afford  me  any  assist- 


260  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

ance  in  his  power  to  gain  such  an  end.  With 
him,  as  with  many  others,  choice  could  not 
have  its  way,  else  they  would  have  been 
found  in  other  positions,  more  congenial  to 
their  feelings ;  they  wrould  have  been  offering 
help  and  comfort  to  their  fellow-men,  under 
an  administration  more  desirable  than  that  of 
the  Confederates.  Everything  about  us  seemed 
marked  by  cruelty  and  heartlessness.  One 
night  I  was  startled  by  the  sound  of  a  musket, 
and  immediately  after,  I  recognized  a  human 
voice,  uttering  the  exclamation,  in  plaintive 
tones,  "Oh,  I  am  shot."  I  instantly  arose  and 
hastened  to  the  spot  from  whence  the  sound 
proceeded,  and  there  found  that  one  of  the  poor 
fellows  in  my  ward  had  gone  to  the  fire  that 
was  kept  by  the  guard  who  were  stationed 
inside  the  fence,  for  the  purpose  of  warm 
ing  himself.  Some  one  from  the  outside  pass 
ing  by,  called  out  gruffly  to  him,  "Get  away 
from  there,"  and  without  giving  him  time  to 
obey  the  heartless  order,  fired  upon  him, 
breaking  his  leg  just  above  the  knee.  The 
following  morning  he  was  subjected  to  ampu 
tation,  but  he  never  rallied  from  it.  He 


LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  261 

lingered  about  three  weeks  and  died.  Some 
of  the  physicians  pronounced  it  an  outrage,  and 
seemed  inclined  to  do  for  him  what  they  could. 
This  was  not  an  isolated  case ;  an  individual 
instance  where  hatred  and  malice  wreaked 
their  vengeance  upon  a  single  object  of  dislike. 
It  is  only  one  of  the  countless  number  that 
we  might  record,  of  which  we  have  been  eye 
witnesses,  and  which  show  the  merciless  char 
acter  of  the  men  with  whom  we  had  to  deal 
constantly. 

Among  so  many,  selfishness  finds  expres 
sion,  also,  and  such  manifestations  among  the 
sick  in  a  hospital,  give  anything  but  the  pleas 
ant  side  of  human  nature.  Some  of  the 
nurses  were  very  kind,  and  did  all  in  their 
power  for  the  comfort  of  those  upon  whom 
they  attended,  but  others  would  stand  over 
dying  men,  and  search  them  for  the  valuable 
things  they  might  have  in  their  possession, 
before  the  breath  had  left  the  body.  The 
physicians  had  something  of  a  variety  of 
medicine,  but  it  was  altogether  insufficient  in 
quantity.  They  obtained  them  from  the  labo 
ratory  at  Macon;  and  a  month's  supply  would 


262  LIFE    IN    KEBEL   PRISONS. 

last  only  about  ten  clays.  There  was  no 
alternative,  then,  but  to  let  disease  go  on  its 
way  unchecked,  or  to  resort  to  the  woods  for 
such  barks  and  roots  as  were  known  to  be 
medicinal  in  their  nature.  For  astringents,  in 
cases  of  diarrhea,  we  used  white  oak  and 
sweet  fern,  and  sumach  berries  for  scurvy  in 
the  mouth ;  but  it  was  not  medicine,  after  all, 
that  was  so  much  needed,  as  good,  wholesome 
food.  Could  we  have  had  this,  with  plenty  of 
vinegar,  or  some  acid,  what  a  change  would 
have  been  wrought  in  our  wretched  looking 
company  at  the  hospital! 

THE    RATIONS, 

for  twenty-four  hours,  for  these  poor  sick  ones, 
was  a  piece  of  corn  bread  about  two  inches 
square,  and  two  ounces  of  meat.  In  case  of 
very  severe  sickness,  they  might  have  two 
gills  of  flour,  enough  for  a  biscuit,  and  this 
mid  be  baked  by  the  nurse  of  the  ward,  and 
sometimes  they  had  a  little  rice,  but  so  mis 
erably  cooked  as  to  be  almost  loathsome.  It 
would  be  boiled  in  two  large  kettles,  and  then 
filled  up  with  cold  water  to  make  it  hold  out, 
for  the  supply  of  those  who  needed  it.  Any 


LIFE    IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  263 

way  and  any  how,  seemed  to  be  the  principle 
upon  which  everything  was  done,  as  may  be 
seen  in  case  of  the  meal  of  which  the  bread 
was  made,  it  being  a  mixture  of  the  cob  and 
corn,  for  it  was  all  ground  together,  thus  fur 
nishing  no  better  material  for  the  diet  of  a 
sick  man  than  we  had  commonly  seen  given 
to  swine  at  home.  What  wonder,  then,  that 
we  saw  so  many  living  skeletons  constantly 
before  us! 

I  have  seen  men  walking  about,  in  hundreds 
of  cases,  that,  according  to  my  judgment, 
would  not  weigh  seventy-five  pounds,  and 
these  were  men,  too,  who  had  once  known  a 
uniform  weight  of  one  hundred  and  eighty. 
They  would  live  in  this  way  for  months,  grad 
ually  growing  thinner  and  weaker,  until  they 
were  entirely  worn  out,  and  there  was  nothing 
left  on  which  life  could  feed  itself.  The 
principal 

DISEASES 

were  diarrhea,  scurvy,  dropsy,  and  typhoid 
fever.  To  think  of  these  as  they  exist  at  the 
North,  one  has  no  idea  of  them  whatsoever. 
The  aggravated  form  they  assumed  there, 


264  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

with  every  possible  thing  to  augment  their 
power  of  working,  is  past  all  conception,  ter 
rible.  The  intensity  of  suffering,  among  those 
who  were  the  victims  of  the  first  mentioned 
disease,  surpasses  all  description.  I  have 
known  many  of  them  to  eat  nothing  for 
a  week  at  a  time,  except  a  little  ^flour  paste, 
while  all  the  while  their  evacuations  would  be 
nothing  but  bloody  and  attended  with  the  most 
excruciating  pain,  and  oftentimes  the  requisite 
change  in  their  position  would  at  once  produce 
faintness.  We  always  expected  death  as  the 
inevitable  result  in  such  cases,  for  none  were 
ever  cured. 

In  dropsy,  the  suffering  was  hardly  less 
acute.  I  have  seen  the  limbs  of  some  of  the 
patients  which  had  become  so  badly  swollen, 
they  would  burst,  and  for  the  want  of  proper 
treatment  become  filled  with  living  things. 
An  instance  occurs  to  my  mind  now,  of  one 
poor  man,  whose  body  was  so  racked  with 
pain  by  this  disease,  that  he  cried  out  in  his 
agony  for  some  one  to  kill  him.  Pie  lingered 
a  while  in  this  condition,  and  death  finally 
came  and  took  away  the  spirit  from  its  dis- 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  267 

eased  and  wretched  tenement,  leaving  it  all 
unconscious  of  the  torments  it  had  endured. 
Sometimes  it  would  settle  in  the  face,  and  in 
such  cases  they  could  not  see  at  all,  and  they 
would  meet  us  in  our  round,  their  disfigured 
countenances  mutely  challenging  our  sympa 
thies,  and  kindling  constant  regret  that  we 
could  do  so  little  to  help  them,  when  they 
must  have  it  or  die. 

The  horrors  of  scurvy  none  can  know  but 
those  who  have  witnessed  them.  It  appeared 
in  different  forms.  Sometimes  it  would  appear 
in  the  limbs,  and  the  cords  would  be  so  drawn 
up  they  could  not  walk.  The  flesh  would 
become  discolored  as  if  they  had  been  beaten 
with  clubs,  and  so  soft,  the  impress  of  the 
fingers  would  remain  as  they  pressed  upon  it. 
Sometimes  it  would  be  confined  to  the  bones, 
and  not  show  itself  outside  at  all.  In  such 
cases  it  would  be  attended  with  the  most 
intense  pain.  At  other  times  it  would  be  in 
the  mouth,  and  the  gums  would  become  sepa 
rated  from  the  teeth,  and  finally  they  would 
drop  out  altogether,  and  not  a  tooth  be  left  in 
the  jaw.  I  have  seen  hundreds  of  cases  in 


268  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

this  disease,  where  the  men  have  actually 
starved  to  death,  because  they  were  unable  to 
eat  the  coarse  food  that  was  furnished  them 
by  the  Confederates. 

They  had  but  a  limited  supply  of  medicines 
that  were  necessary  in  these  instances,  and 
for  want  of  these  it  would  be  unchecked  until 
gangrene  set  in  to  fill  up  the  measure  of  suf 
fering. 

The  blood  of  the  men,  generally,  was  in 
such  an  impure  state,  that  the  least  break  of 
the  skin  would  be  almost  sure  to  lead  to  a 
gangrenous  sore,  and  many  amputations  were 
performed  in  consequence.  Under  the  influ 
ence  of  a  scorching  sun,  the  entire  upper  sur 
face  of  the  foot  would  become  blistered ;  these 
would  break,  leaving  the  flesh  exposed,  and 
having  nothing  to  dress  it  with,  or  protect  it 
in  any  way,  gangrene  was  inevitable,  and  this 
would  be  followed  by  the  loss  of  the  foot,  if 
not  a  larger  portion  of  the  limb.  In  many 
cases  they  were  so  much  debilitated  when  the 
attempt  was  made,  they  would  never  recover 
from  the  influence  of  the  chloroform,  and  if 
they  had  strength  at  the  beginning,  they 


LIFE  IN   REBEL  PRISONS.  269 

would  afterwards  die  for  the  want  of  proper 
nourishment,  which  it  was  impossible  to  obtain. 
The  amputations  would  average  as  many  as 
half  a  dozen  every  day,  and  I  knew  not  a 
single  instance  of  recovery  from  them. 

In  addition  to  these  things,  there  were  also 
cases  of  extreme  suffering,  without  number, 
caused  by  the  use  of  bad  vaccine  matter. 
Whether  the  rebels  did  this  intentionally,  or 
not,  we  can  not  say,  but  it  certainly  became  a 
melancholy  fact  among  us.  I  remember  the 
sad  condition  of  a  man,  who  had  it  break  out 
under  his  arm  and  eat  into  his  vitals,  and  the 
opening  was  so  large  as  almost  to  admit  a 
man's  hand. 

Some  became  the  victims  of  total  blindness, 
occasioned,  it  may  be,  by  constant  exposure  to 
the  heat  of  the  sun,  and  its  action  upon  the 
nervous  system. 

In  the  month  of  June  it  rained  twenty-one 
days  in  succession,  and  it  was  not  strange  that 
disease  should  multiply  and  assume  every 
imaginable  form.  There  were  fifteen  thou 
sand  men  in  the  stockade,  without  shelter  of 
any  kind,  and  it  might  be  expected  that  the 


270  LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

hospital  would  be  rapidly  peopled  from  their 
ranks.  Indeed,  the  latter  place  was  hardly 
any  better.  During  the  warm  season  it  was 
dreadful.  The  men  scarcely  ever  wore  any 
clothing  at  all,  but  a  shirt,  that  they  might 
keep  as  free  as  possible  from  the  lice,  which 
covered  all  their  clothing.  *It  was  three 
hours'  work  every  day,  in  my  comparatively 
healthful  condition,  to  keep  my  own  body 
tolerably  free  from  them,  and  the  poor,  sick 
men,  who  were  too  feeble  to  help  themselves, 
would  actually  find  their  life-blood  taken  away 
from  them  in  this  way.  Many  men  have  died 
apparently  from  no  other  cause  than  that  of 
being  overrun  with  lice.  I  have  had  men's 
hair  cut,  when,  if  these  had  been  measured, 
there  would  have  been  in  bulk  a  half  pint  of 
them,  and  in  size  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch. 
Mosquitoes,  too,  were  terrible.  A  man  who 
could  not,  through  weakness,  defend  himself, 
looked  as  if  he  had  the  measles,  so  completely 
would  his  face  be  covered  with  their  bites,  and 
fleas  without  number  vied  with  these  to  tor 
ment  the  poor  prisoner,  sick  or  well.  It  is 
hardly  possible  to  conceive  a  greater  accumu- 


LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  271 

lation  of  woes  to  come  upon  mortal  men, 
than  fell  to  the  lot  of  our  prisoners  at  Ander 
son  ville. 

In  view  of  all  these  things,  some  of  the 
rebel  Surgeons  felt  compelled  to  call  for  some 
thing  better,  but  it  fell  mostly  upon  unheed 


ing  ears. 


Nearly  3  thousand  died  during  the  month 
of  August,  and  in  the  midst  of  this  fearful 
mortality,  Surgeon  Reeves  reported  as  follows, 
and  we  must  remember  this  bears  the  mild 
ness  of 

REBEL   TESTIMONY. 

"I  find  the  tents  in  bad  condition,  a  great 
many  leaking,  and  a  great  many  of  the 
patients  lying  on  the  ground  and  getting  very 
wet  when  it  rains.  would  most  respect 
fully  recommend  that  straw  of  some  kind  be 
secured  for  bedding;  also  some  arrangement 
to  raise  them  from  the  ground.  Without  a 
change  in  this  respect,  it  will  be  impossible 
for  me  to  practice  with  success."  No  response 
was  made  to  this,  and  still  later  another,  Sur 
geon  Pelot,  uttered  his  protest  with  regard  to 
diet.  "The  corn  bread,"  he  says,  "received 


272  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

from  the  bakery,  being  made  up  without  sift 
ing,  is  wholly  unfit  for  the  sick,  and  often, 
upon  examination,  the  inner  portion  is  found 
to  be  perfectly  raw.  The  beef  received  by  the 
patients  does  not  amount  to  over  two  ounces 
per  day ;  and  for  the  past  three  or  four  days 
no  flour  has  been  issued  to  the  sick.  The 
bread  can  not  be  eaten  by  many  ;  for  to  do  so 
would  be  to  increase  the  disease  of  the  bowels, 
from  which  a  large  majority  are  suffering; 
and  it  is  therefore  thrown  away." 

Themselves  being  judges,  they  declared  the 
rations  too  small,  and  not  sufficiently  nourish 
ing,  and  they  gave  it  as  their  deliberate  con 
viction  that  the  patients  of  the  hopital  suf 
fered  as  much  from  hunger  as  from  disease. 

About  the  middle  of  August  Dr.  Thornburg 
reported  his  patients  in  a  "deplorable  condi 
tion,"  some  of  them  being  without  clothing  of 
any  kind.  "In  the  first,  second  and  third 
wards,"  he  writes,  "we  have  no  bunks,  the 
patients  being  compelled  to  lie  on  the  ground, 
many  of  them  without  blankets,  or  any  cover 
ing  whatsoever.  If  there  are  any  beds  in 
'Dixie/  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  they  will  be  pro- 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  273 

cured.  We  need  straw  very  badly,  especially 
for  the  fifth  ward.  We  have  men  in  this 
ward  who  are  a  living,  moving  mass  of  putre 
faction,  and  can  not  possibly  be  cured  of  their 
wounds  unless  we  can  make  them  more  com 
fortable." 

Such  is  the  testimony  of  men  whom  we 
would  not  think  likely  to  exaggerate  in  this 
matter.  They  even  declare  that  some  of  the 
food  furnished  the  prisoners  wrould  "produce 
disease  among  swine." 

As  a  sad  consequence  of  all  this,  thirteen 
thousand  of  our  brave  boys  lie  buried  in  that 
ever-to-be-remembered  place.  How  often  did 
we  think,  "had  they  died  on  the  field  of  bat 
tle  we  could  have  felt  differently,"  but  they 
must  die  by  inches,  in  the  most  miserable  of 
places,  and  with  the  most  miserable  treatment, 
day  after  day,  and  week  after  week,  hoping, 
watching  and  praying  for  release.  Hundreds 
of  times  in  a  day  would  the  question  be 
asked,  "Is  there  no  news  of  exchange?"  They 
seemed  to  have  a  wonderful  tenacity  of  life. 
Hope  seemed  to  keep  them  up  until  almost 
every  spark  of  life  had  gone  out,  and  when  it 


274  LIFE  IN   KEBEL   PRISONS. 

went  altogether,  it  was  so  sudden  they  seldom 
mentioned  anything  about  dying,  and,  indeed, 
they  never  seemed  to  realize  it  when  death 
was  just  upon  them.  So  gradual  and  constant 
would  be  their  decline,  they  would  be  accus 
tomed  to  weakness  and  suffering  without 
thinking  what  it  would  inevitably  tend  to. 

One  poor  fellow  fell  over  and  died  while  in 
the  act  of  eating  a  biscuit,  and  very  many 
came  to  their  end  in  a  way  equally  sud 
den  and  unlocked  for.  We  could  scarcely 
account  for  it.  Evidently  the  springs  of  life 
had  been  drying  at  their  source,  all  uncon 
sciously  to  themselves  and  others.  Occasion 
ally  some  one  would  talk  with  me  of  the  com 
ing  event,  and  send  little  messages  to  the 
friends  who  shared  their  dying  thoughts. 

D.  S.  Birdsell,  of  Hartford,  Ct.,  went  into 
the  hospital  just  before  I  left.  Upon  his 
entrance  he  told  me  he  thought  death  was 
doing  its  work,  and  every  feature  of  his  coun 
tenance  was  marked  with  sadness  as  he  said 
it,  for  he  had  a  wife  and  children  that  would 
mourn  his  loss.  Tears  filled  his  eyes  as  he 
thought  of  them,  and  how  desirable  it  would 


LIFE  IN   REBEL  PRISONS.  275 

be  if  he  could  only  spend  his  last  days  with 
them.  It  was  a  struggle  for  nature  to  yield, 
and  he  said,  "It's  hard  to  die  here.  I  had 
hoped  to  die  at  home"  and  how  much  that 
word  means  to  a  soldier  and  a  prisoner,  espe 
cially  to  one  that  sees  his  days  to  be  almost 
numbered.  I  obtained  soup  for  him  that  I 
thought  would  strengthen  and  revive  him, 
and  did  all  I  could  for  his  encouragement,  and 
for  a  time  he  seemed  better,  but  it  did  not 
last  long.  He  died,  and  is  one  of  the  thou 
sands  who  lie  buried  there.  At  his  entrance 
he  gave  me  his  diary  and  pictures  to  have  in 
charge  until  I  could  send  them  to  his  family, 
and  bade  me  tell  them  of  his  love  and  remem 
brance  in  his  last  days,  far  away  from  them. 

Others  also  sent  pictures  and  messages  to 
their  friends,  but  these  instances  were  com 
paratively  isolated,  for  reasons  that  we  have 
before  mentioned. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  this  should  be  so, 
and  it  often  appeared  so  to  myself,  but  it  is 
best  understood  by  those  who  were  acquainted 
with  the  condition  of  the  men  and  witnessed 
their  slow  decline. 


276  LIFE   IN   KEBEL   PRISONS. 

Death  was  often  times  doing  its  work  before 
the  men  were  carried  to  the  hospital.  They 
had  two  ambulances  and  an  army  wagon, 
in  which  they  always  carried  the  patients. 
An  ambulance  would  hold  four,  and  from  this 
number  I  faave  often  seen  two  taken  out  dead, 
having  breathed  out  their  lives  on  the  way, 
and  many , died  while  waiting  outside  the  stock 
ade  for  soine  one  to  come  to  their  relief. 

After  death,  the  men  were  carried  to  the 
gate  and  laid  inside  the  stockade,  next  to  the 
dead  line,  where  they  often  remained  in  the 
hot  sun  until  the  next  morning.  They  were 
then  taken  by  our  own  men,  who  had  been 
paroled  for  the  purpose,  and  carried  outside 
to  a 

DEAD   HOUSE, 

made  of  pine  boughs,  which  formed  a  kind 
of  screen.  After  all  had  been  collected  at 
this  place,  they  were  carried  out  unto  the 
place  of  burial.  I  have  seen  one  hundred 
bodies  in  a  row,  and  some  of  them  so  decom 
posed  as  to  fall  to  pieces  on  being  removed. 
Large  quantities  of  whisky  were  given  to  the 
men  who  attended  to  the  burial  of  these. 


LIFE   IN    REBEL    PRISONS.  277 

Surprising  as  it  may  seem,  it  came  to  be 
considered  a  great  privilege  to  assist  in  this 
work,  so  that  men  would  almost  contend  for 
it.  It  even  came  to  be  a  matter  of  trade,  and 
from  one  to  three  dollars  in  U.  S.  money  was 
the  price  for  being  permitted  to  carry  out  a 
dead  body, — those  who  died  in  the  stockade. 

Not  having  a  sufficient  number  of  stretch 
ers,  they  were  carried  out  on  blankets  or  on 
sticks  of  wood,  and  the  bearers  thus  found  ad 
mission  to  the  hospital,  where  they  were  likely 
to  find  some  untasted  portion  of  food  that  had 
been  given  to  the  sick,  and  this  they  would 
obtain  to  appease  their  hunger.  They  could 
also  get  wood  in  this  way,  by  which  they  could 
cook  their  small  allowance,  so  that  it  was  es 
teemed  a  double  gain  among  these  half-starved 
men  which  they  realized  for  their  dreadful 
work. 

After  the  death  of  the  men,  they  were  num 
bered,  and  their  names  writte^i  on  a  piece  of 
paper  and  pinned  to  their  clothing.  They 
were  then  taken  to  the  dead-house,  as  we  have 
said,  but  this  was  within  hospital  grounds,  so 
that  it  was  a  wonder  to  ourselves  that  we  had 

19 


278  LIFE  IN   REBEL  PRISONS. 

no  contagious  diseases  from  having  so  many 
decaying  bodies  in  our  midst. 

Before  the  plan  of  marking  and  numbering 
was  observed,  those  who  died  while  waiting  to 
be  carried  to  the  hospital  were  buried  with 
the  single  word  upon  them,  " Unknown" — and 
these  were  men,  many  of  them,  who  had  been 
reared  in  luxury,  and  who  had  friends  whose 
hearts  would  well-nigh  break  if  they  knew 
half  the  truth  respecting  their  sufferings.  Oft 
entimes  I  thought  it  blessed  ignorance  for 
them,  but  melancholy  in  the  last  degree  for 
the  poor  soldier.  I  have  shed  many  a  tear 
myself  at  their  sad  fate,  as  I  saw  them  rudely 
and  unfeelingly  conveyed  to  their  last  home. 

Every  morning  a  large  army-wagon  would 
be  driven  up  to  the  dead-house,  and  twenty  or 
thirty  bodies  would  be  loaded  in  like  so  many 
logs  of  wood,  one  top  of  another,  some  with 
an  arm  hanging  out  at  the  side,  and  others 
with  their  limbs  protruding  at  the  sides,  for 
there  was  no  covering  at  all.  The  rebels 
finally  became  ashamed  of  their  own  want  of 
decency,  and  provided  a  covered  wagon. 

When   they   first   took   their   prisoners   to 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  279 

Georgia,  they  furnished  coffins,  but  the  mor 
tality  became  so  great  that  they  finally  neg 
lected  to  do  that,  and  dug  a  trench  about  two 
and  a  half  feet  deep,  with  a  kind  of  shelf  of 
the  dirt  ten  inches  high,  on  which  they  placed 
slabs  of  wood  to  keep  the  earth  from  them. 
In  a  little  time  they  died  too  fast  for  even 
this,  and  they  then  dug  a  trench  that  would 
hold  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  bod 
ies,  in  which  they  placed  them  close  together 
and  covered  them  up.  Being  thus  buried, 
they  would  take  pieces  of  wood  upon  which 
the  numbers  had  been  placed,  and  drive  them 
down  at  the  head  of  each  body,  not  knowing 
or  caring  whether  they  were  where  they  ought 
to  be  or  not. 

The  place  of  burial  was  about  half  a  mile 
from  the  hospital.  It  was  situated  on  high 
ground,  being  level,  and  surrounded  with  pine 
forests,  which  made  it  very  pleasant.  It  is 
emphatically  a  Soldiers'  Cemetery.,  and  a  fear 
ful  comment  upon  Southern  cruelty. 

But  for  their  wretched  system  of  treatment, 
the  earth  would  not  have  held  in  its  embrace 
so  many  of  our  brave  boys ;  but  for  this,  so 


280  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

many  of  the  survivors  would  not  carry  with 
them  broken  constitutions  and  maimed  bodies, 
as  they  must  now  do. 

The  recital  of  these  tales  of  horror  touches 
the  deepest  springs  of  sympathy,  and  kindles 
the  fires  of  indignation  to  a  fervid  glow ;  but 
it  may  not  be  for  us  to  strike  the  blow  which 
justice  demands. 

"  Vengeance  is  mine ;  I  will  repay,  saith  the 
Lord."  The  cry  of  the  martyred  thousands  has 
gone  up  before  high  Heaven, — not  heedlessly, 
but  to  be  the  means  of  a  visitation,  it  may  be, 
to  the  oppressors,  which  they  will  be  ill  pre 
pared  to  meet. 

Fearful  wrongs  may  not  always  exist.  There 
comes  a  time  when  Right  will  assert  its  inhe 
rent  dignity,  and  show  itself  triumphant;  but, 
meantime,  the  friends  of  the  Northern  soldier 
should  be  awake  to  their  duty  and  their  trust. 

If  there  is  anything  that  can  be  done,  these 
men  ought  not  to  be  suffered  to  pine  away  in 
the  miasma  of  Southern  prisons.  The  fact 
that  one  hundred  and  fifty  have  died  in  a 
single  day  in  the  foul  atmosphere  of  such  a 
place  as  the  prison  at  Andersonville,  ought  to 


LIFE   IN   KEBEL   PRISONS.  281 

awaken  the  people,  and  through  them  the  Gov 
ernment,  to  a  sense  of  these  things,  and  bid 
them  hasten  to  their  relief.  Much  of  the 
seeming  apathy  is  doubtless  due  to  the  want 
of  knowledge  respecting  the  real  state  of  af 
fairs  ;  but  when  wre  give  these  mournful  state 
ments,  we  know  whereof  we  affirm. 

Day  by  day  we  have  gone  the  rounds  of 
that  wretched  hospital,  and  looked  upon  al 
most  every  variety  of  suffering  that  the  hu 
man  frame  is  capable  of  presenting. 

We  have  seen  the  misery  of  "hope  deferred" 
written  on  many  a  countenance  as  we  have 
passed  the  patient  creatures  on  their  low 
couch  of  earth. 

We  have  seen  their  gaunt  faces  and  pro 
truding  bones  make  their  silent  and  wistful 
appeal  week  by  week,  and  wondered  that 
there  was  none  to  remember  us  in  our  sor 
row. 

We  have  witnessed  amid  all  their  woe  and 
want,  their 

FIRM    DEVOTION 

to  the  Union  cause,  and  known  their  intense 
longings  for  victory  and  success  to  crown  the 


282  LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

Federal  arms  ;  and  thought  would  continually 
suggest  that  such  unselfish  patriots  were  wor 
thy  a  better  lot, — that  they  ought,  at  least,  to 
be  rescued  from  starvation. 

I  wearied  of  the  sickening  sights  constantly 
before  me,  and  determined'  to  make  my  es 
cape.  I  accomplished  my  object  by  obtaining 
a  suit  of  sailor's  clothes,  changing  my  name, 
and  allowing  myself  to'  be  taken  to  Charles 
ton,  and  from  thence  to  Libby  prison  at 
Richmond.  There  I  was  exchanged,  having 
been  a  prisoner  just  six  months.  No  state 
ment  have  I  made  but  will  be  confirmed  by 
every  prisoner  at  Andersonville,  who  knew 
anything  of  the  interior  of  the  hospital.  The 
truth  can  not  be  told ;  it  beggars  all  descrip 
tion.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  time  past 
will  suffice,  and  that  a  like  experience  will  not 
have  to  be  wrought  out  by  any  company  of 
soldiers  in  the  future.  The  Georgia  Cemetery 
should  be  as  a  mighty  trumpet  to  proclaim 
against  it 


LIFE   IN  REBEL  PRISONS.  283 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

DEPARTURE     FROM     PRISON. 

As  we  marched  out  of  the  gate,  we  were 
divided  into  squads  of  sixty  men  each,  and 
marched  over  to  the  depot.  The  sick  ones  were 
placed  between  the  strongest  of  us,  who  bore 
them  up,  and  in  this  manner  we  wended  our 
way  slowly  along  the  road.  When  we  were 
passing  the  head-quarters  of  Captain  Wirz,  he 
cried  out  to  us,  "You'll  never  come  back  here 
again ! "  and  if  it  was  not  expressed,  the  sin 
cere  and  inward  response  of  every  man  was, 
"I  hope  we  never  may."  Upon  our  arrival  at 
the  depot,  we  were  immediately  loaded  into 
the  cars,  a  squad  of  sixty  in  each  one,  with 
two  guards  upon  the  top.  They  were  merely 
common  box  cars,  such  as  are  used  at  the 
North  for  transporting  freight.  We  found 
placed  for  us  inside,  some  corn-bread  and 
bacon,  which  we  were  told  was  our  allowance 
for  two  days,  and  also  one  or  two  wooden 
buckets  in  which  we  were  to  get  our  supply 
of  water  at  the  different  stopping-places.  We 


284  LIFE   IN  REBEL  PRISONS. 

immediately  divided  and  distributed  the  ra 
tions,  and  had  barely  time  to  fill  one  of  our 
buckets  with  water,  when  the  cheering  sound 
of  the  locomotive's  whistle  was  heard,  and  we 
were  off!  Yes  I  we  were  really  leaving  behind 
us  that  plague-spot  upon  the  fair  earth — An- 
dersonville.  We  went  as  far  as  Macon  that 
evening,  and  waited  there  until  four  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  Just  before  reaching  Fort  Val 
ley,  while  the  train  was  stopping  for  a  few 
minutes,  several  men,  who  would  not  believe 
the  affair  would  be  crowned  with  exchange 
after  all,  jumped  from  the  cars,  and  attempted 
to  make  good  their  escape.  Our  first  knowl 
edge  of  the  fact  was  the  simultaneous  dis 
charge  of  two  muskets  from  the  guards  who 
saw  them  and  fired.  They  were  captured  and 
brought  back. 

Sunrise  found  us  traveling  at  a  rapid  rate 
on  the  Georgia  Central  Eailroad,  bound  for 
Savannah,  as  we  then  supposed.  The  country 
through  which  we  were  passing  was  very 
beautiful,  and  looked  like  Eden  to  our  delight 
ed  gaze,  shut  up  as  we  had  been  for  so  many 
months.  The  trees,  the  green  grass,  the 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  285 

flowers  and  pure  air, — everything  was  lovely 
to  us,  and  received  our  warmest  praise.  As 
we  passed  Gordon,  we  saw  some  of  the 
destruction  wrought  by  our  cavalry,  under 
Gen.  Stoneman.  The  handsome  railroad  sta 
tion  and  freight  house  was  burned,  and  stood 
there  dismantled  and  lonely,  while  bent  and 
twisted  rails,  and  partially  burned  ties,  were 
scattered  all  about. 

The  road  had  been  rebuilt,  and  was  then  in 
good,  running  order.  When  we  arrived  at 
Millen,  instead  of  continuing  on  the  Central 
road,  we  switched  off  to  the  Augusta  road. 
"How  is  this?"  we  began  to  inquire.  Not 
having  very  strong  confidence  yet  in  those 
with  whom  we  had  to  deal,  we  were  a  little 
fearful  what  might  happen.  Visions  of  an 
other  prison  began  to  appear  before  us,  but 
our  fears  were  soon  dispelled  by  assurances 
that  this  was  the  nearest  and  quickest  route 
to  Charleston,  which  we  were  told  was  the 
point  of  exchange. 

The  fifty-two  miles  from  Millen  to  Augusta 
was  quickly  sped,  and  shortly  before  sunset 
we  entered  that  beautiful  city,  and  here  we 


286  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

had  to  wait  a  long  time,  but  it  was  far  from 
being  tedious,  for  we  received  every  possible 
attention  from  the  citizens.  Men,  women  and 
children  did  their  utmost  to  supply  us  with 
good,  cool  wTater,  and  this  was  something  we 
were  greatly  in  need  of.  One  family  in  par 
ticular,  I  shall  never  forget.  Their  home  was 
in  a  large  white  house,  near  to  the  car  in 
which  I  sat,  and  all  of  them  kept  hard  at 
work,  filling  ou-r  canteens  and  tin  cups  with 
refreshing  water,  and  bringing  milk,  biscuit 
and  meat,  with  the  request  that  it  might  be 
given  to  the  sick,  and  it  may  be  imagined 
how  gratefully  it  was  received  by  those  who 
had  nothing  but  miserable  bread  and  bacon  to 
tempt  their  sickly  appetites.  As  the  lady  of 
the  house  was  stepping  away  from  the  car, 
after  having  brought  a  plate  of  delicacies,  I 
said  to  her,  "Madain,  if  you  please,  will  you 
let  me  know  the  name  of  one  who  has  been  so 
kind  to  us?"  "Yes  sir,"  she  replied,  "Mrs.  J.  B. 
O'Donnell."  Our  hearts  prompted  the  strongest 
expressions  of  gratitude,  and  even  now,  in 
remembrance  of  it,  I  feel  like  saying,  "may 
God  bless  her  for  the  sympathy  and  kindness 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  287 

which  she  and  her  family  displayed  toward 
us!"  I  do  not  know  whether  she  was  Union 
or  rebel  in  sentiment,  but  I  do  know  that  she 
had  a  heart  overflowing  with  kindness.  A 
great  many  were  gathered  there,  and  those 
who  talked  with  us,  wished  us  a  safe  passage 
home,  and  above  all  other  things  did  they 
wish  for  peace  to  be  smiling  upon  them  again. 
They  spoke  as  if  they  were  heartily  tired  of 
the  war,  and  indeed  we  thought  all  Georgians 
were  from  some  things  we  had  seen.  When 
we  left  there,  we  were  taken  out  of  the  cars 
and  marched  over  into  another  street,  where 
others  were  awaiting  us  on  a  different  track. 
While  waiting  here  we  came  in  contact  with 

A    REBEL    SOLDIER, 

who  had  been  exchanged  only  a  few  weeks 
before,  and  held  quite  a  conversation  with 
him.  We  had  a  great  many  questions  to  ask 
him,  for  he  had  come  from  our  own  land,  and 
we  imagined  there  had  been  quite  a  contrast 
between  the  treatment  he  had  received  and 
that  which  we  had  endured. 

"Where  were  you  kept  while  a  prisoner?" 
we  asked.     "  On  Johnson's  Island,"  he  told  us. 


288  LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

"How  did  our  people  treat  you/'  we  contin 
ued,  anxious  to  draw  him  out  on  points  of  dif 
ference.  "  Very  well,  indeed,  sir."  "Did  you 
have  enough  to  eat,  and  good  food,  too!" 
"Yes,  sir!"  "Did  you  receive  any  vegeta 
bles?"  "Oh,  yes;  quite  often."  "And  how 
was  it  if  you  were  sick,"  we  asked,  "  could  you 
get  medicine  and  receive  medical  treatment  ?" 
To  this  he  readily  replied  in  the  affirmative, 
and  having  satisfied  our  curiosity  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  our  government  treated  its 
prisoners,  we  began  to  enlighten  him  a  little 
on  the  way  we  had  been  treated,  and  we  had 
pretty  conclusive  proof  of  the  truth  of  our 
statements  with  us,  in  our  own  persons,  or,  at 
least,  he  seemed  to  think  so.  Eeaching  into 
my  cloth  bag,  which  answered  as  a  "haver 
sack,"  I  drew  forth  a  piece  of  corn  bread, 
about  the  size  and  weight  of  a  good  "brick. 
I  handed  it  to  him  for  inspection,  saying, 
"there,  that  is  what  your  people  give  us. 
What  do  you  think  of  it  ?"  Pie  looked  at  it, 
felt  of  it,  and  shaking  his  head,  handed  it 
back,  acknowledging  it  was  "mighty  poor 
feed."  "And,  look  here,"  said  I,  "what  do  you 


LIFE    IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  289 

think  of  this  shirt,"  as  I  pointed  to  the  misera 
ble  apology  for  such  a  garment,  "all  worn  to 
tatters,  and  these  pants,  all  rags  and  dirt  ?" 
He  was  honest  enough  not  to  undertake  to 
excuse  such  a  course  of  treatment,  and  con 
fessing  that  "it  was'nt  right,"  he  turned  and 
went  away. 

At  ten  P.  M.  we  left  on  the  Charleston  train, 
bound  direct  for  that  "  city  by  the  sea,"  carry 
ing  with  us  pleasant  recollections  of  our  short 
stay  in  Augusta.  On  awaking  in  the  morn 
ing,  we  found  we  had  traveled  only  thirty 
miles  during  the  night,  and  the  journey 
through  the  day  was  conducted  in  the  same 
style,  bringing  our 

ENTRANCE  INTO  CHARLESTON 

at  three,  P.  M.  We  immediately  left  the  cars, 
and  were  marched  about  half  a  mile,  to  the 
race-course,  where  a  guard  was  thrown  about 
us,  and  we  were  left  to  our  meditations,  first 
being  told,  however,  that  it  was  no  exchange 
after  all,  but  simply  a  hurried  removal,  caused 
by  great  fear  of  Gen.  Sherman  and  his  army. 
"How  blind  we  had  been,"  we  thought,  "not 
to  have  been  mindful  of  that  before  !"  "  Now 


290  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

we  see/'  we  said  to  ourselves,  "  that  those  who 
did  not  believe  in  the  rebel  lies  were  the  wise 
men,  and  we  were  the  foolish  ones." 

"Can  these  rebels  have  any  hearts  at  all,  to 
deceive  suffering,  dying  men,  in  this  syste 
matic  manner  ?"  we  asked,  but  upon  considera 
tion  we  thought  it  no  wonder  after  all,  for 
they  perjured  themselves  when  they  seceded 
from  the  government,  and  when  men  have 
once  done  this,  it  becomes  an  easy  matter 
afterwards  to  repeat  it  as  often  as  they  please, 
and  in  such  form  as  suits  them  best.  It 
seemed  that  a  few  more  such  developments, 
and  a  little  more  of  like  experience,  and  we 
should  have  a  pretty  clear  insight  into  rebel 
character. 

Collecting  our  thoughts,  we  looked  about 
us  to  see  how  we  were  situated.  The  race 
course  upon  which  we  were  camped,  was  a 
broad,  grassy  flat,  just  outside  the  city,  but 
commanding  a  view  of  its  houses  and  build 
ings.  The  track  was  grown  over  with  grass, 
and  the  judges'  stand  looked  very  rickety, 
indeed,  hardly  able  to  stand  by  itself.  The 
Virge  building  formerly  used  as  a  stand  for 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  291 

spectators,  was  now  occupied  by  Col.  Daniels, 
of  the  5th  Georgia  regiment,  and  Lieut.  Col: 
Iverson ;  the  latter  in  command  over  us. 
These  soldiers  were  much  better  clothed,  and 
were  a  better  and  more  intelligent  set  of  men, 
than  the  conscripts  who  guarded  us  at  Ander- 
sonville.  They  told  us,  with  a  great  show  of 
pride,  that  they  had  "always  been  at  the 
front,  until  within  four  weeks." 

We  had  been  there  but  a  little  while  before 
Gen.  Foster  sent  his  compliments  over  to  the 
'city?  in  the  shape  of  a  shelly  which  burst 
in  the  air,  directly  in  front  of  us.  It  did 
seem  aggravating  to  be  there,  so  near  those 
who  manned  our  own  guns,  and  yet  as  help 
less  as  if  we  were  a  thousand  miles  from 
them.  After  we  left  the  cars,  and  were 
marching  over  to  the  place  of  encampment, 
"we  met  with  great  kindness  from  the  citizens, 
who  brought  us  water  to  drink,  and  gave  us 
food  to  eat.  They  all  expressed  a  great  deal 
of  sympathy  for  us,  and  a  few  of  them  dared 
to  whisper,  while  unseen  by  the  guard,  that 
"they  hoped  our  army  would  soon  come  to 
our  deliverance." 


292  LIFE    IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

That  night  our  rations  were  wholly  ex 
hausted,  and  all  that  we  received  was  prom 
ises  that  we  might  have  good  bread  and  bacon 
on  the  morrow. 

The  disappointment  was  so  very  great,  we 
feared  it  would  prove  too  much  for  the  boys 
who  were  sick,  and  that  they  would  die,  but 
those  who  were  well,  could  but  feel  that  it 
was  some  improve menfc  to  be  surrounded  by 
cool,  clear  air,  not  yet  laden  with  pestilential 
odors. 

When  the  morrow  came,  we  received  our 
hard  bread  and  bacon  which  had  been  prom 
ised,  each  one  having  three  and  a  half  large 
crackers,  made  of  good  sweet  flour,  about  six 
inches  square,  and  about  twice  the  quantity 
of  bacon  we  had  been  in  the  habit  of  having 
at  our  prison.  Some  of  the  messes  had,  also, 
soap  and  salt. 

We  were  organized,  here,  in  a  manner  alto 
gether  different  from  that  down  in  Georgia. 
Instead  of  being  in  detachments,  as  there, 
here  we  were  placed  in  "thousands"  and  "hun 
dreds."  Our  squad  was  designated  as  the  3d 
"hundred."  1st "  thousand."  Each  one  of  these 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  293 

divisions  was  commanded  by  a  sergeant.  The 
rations  were  drawn  from  the  rebels  by  the  offi 
cer  over  the  "  thousand,"  and  those  over  "  hun 
dreds"  drew  their  respective  shares  from  him. 
The  whole  number  of  prisoners  gathered  there 
was  some  over  six  thousand.  We  had  no 
tents  and  no  shelter  whatsoever  furnished  us, 
but  such  of  us  as  had  blankets  erected  some 
thing  that  served  to  shelter  us  from  the  heat 
of  the  sun,  but  they  were  of  little  use  when 
it  rained. 

We  could  obtain  plenty  of  water  by  digging 
down  about  four  or  five  feet,  but  it  was  not  of 
very  good  quality.  However,  a  great  number 
were  quickly  dug  by  the  men ;  so  numerous, 
that  one  could  scarcely  walk  at  all  after  dark, 
without  danger  of  falling  into  some  of  them. 
A  saltish  kind  of  mineral  water  was  also 
brought  up  from  the  city,  and  was  said  to 
have  been  obtained  from  an  Artesian  well. 

A  great  many  of  the  women  and  children 
came  over,  bringing  with  them  wheat  bread, 
sweet  potatoes,  and  clothing,  which  they  would 
throw  over  the  line,  when  the  guards  were 
turned  with  their  backs  toward  them.  They 


294  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

had  orders  to  stop  anything  of  the  kind  they 
saw,  and  some  of  them  were  so  accommoda 
ting  they  .would  not  see  if  they  could,  and 
kept  their  faces  turned  away  purposely,  that 
in  this  way  we  might  receive  what  the  ladies 
brought  us  for  our  comfort. 

Unpleasant  as  our  situation  was  at  this  time, 
while  experiencing  the  sorrows  of  blighted 
hope,  it  nevertheless  seemed  grand  not  to  be 
confined  inside  a  stockade.  But  our  old  friend, 

THE   DEAD    LINE, 

seemed  determined  to  follow  us  wherever  wo 
went.  A  rebel  soldier,  with  a  horse  and  plow, 
went  round  our  camp,  turning  over  a  light 
furrow  a  few  feet  from  the  sentries'  beat ;  and 
that  was  to  be  all  that  should  mark  the  line 
between  life  and  death  for  us.  Not  even  a 
railing  was  put  up,  like  the  one  we  had  been 
conversant  with.  Soon  after  this,  the  whole 
of  us  were  marched  out  of  camp,  and  after 
staying  awhile  out,  we  had  the  satisfaction  of 
marching  back  again, — done,  as  we  learned, 
to  afford  a  better  opportunity  of  our  being 
counted. 


LIFE   IN   REBEL    PRISONS.  295 

Fifteen  of  the  "hundreds"  were  finally  given 
one  day's  rations,  and  ordered  to  be  ready  to 
take  their  departure  on  the  next  day ;  and  it 
was  matter  of  much  speculation  with  us,  as  to 
where  their  place  of  destination  might  be. 
They  started  early  in  the  morning  for  their 
unknown  home,  but  we  conjectured  that  it 
might  be  Florence,  as  we  learned  the  rebels 
had  another  prison  there. 

That  day  was  to  us  one  of  the  old-fashioned 
starvation  days,  for  we  had  nothing  but  a 
scrap  of  fresh  beef  until  after  dark  at  night, 
when  we  had  a  little  hard-bread  given  us.  A 
Rebel  officer  came  to  the  prison  entrance  in 
the  afternoon,  and  called  for  volunteers  to 
work  upon  fortifications  in  Charleston  harbor, 
promising,  as  an  inducement,  all  they  wanted 
to  eat,  besides  tobacco  and  whisky,  and  threat 
ening  to  force  them  if  they  should  refuse  to 
do  it  of  their  own  accord.  I  am  sorry  to  say 
that  several  hundred  did  volunteer  their 
services,  and  were  accepted.  It  might  be 
that  they  did  it  with  the  hope  of  escaping. 
We  could  not  think  they  would  so  violate 
their  enlistment  oath,  "not  to  render  aid  or 


296  LIFE   IN   REBEL    PRISONS. 

comfort  to  the  enemy,"  on  any  other  con 
dition. 

I  received  a  line  about  this  time  from  Major 
Pasco,  of  our  regiment,  who  was  a  prisoner  in 
the  Eoper  Hospital  buildings,  down  in  the 
city.  It  was  brought  to  me  by  the  Catholic 
"  Sisters  of  Charity,"  and  made  me  feel  like 
setting  down  one  good  deed  in  their  favor,  for 
it  certainly  seemed  like  an  act  of  kindness 
then.  I  wrote  a  reply  to  the  note,  and  sup 
posing  that  it  would  have  to  be  examined 
before  it  was  allowed  to  go,  I  stepped  up  to 
the  Lieutenant  who  was  officer  of  the  guard, 
and  explained  the  case  to  him,  asking  him  to 
read  it,  in  order  to  satisfy  himself  that  it  con 
tained  nothing  contraband.  He  made  very 
slow  work  of  it,  and  another  officer,  observing 
it,  stepped  up,  and  between  them  both  they 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  all  right, 
and  I  was  permitted  to  send  it. 

Several  of  our  boys  were  sick,  and  really 
needed  to  be  admitted  to  the  hospital,  and  I 
used  all  my  endeavors  to  secure  such  a  result, 
but  my  efforts  were  all  fruitless.  It  was  a 
poor  place  indeed  for  a  man  to  be  sick,  with- 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  297 

out  shelter  or  medicine,  and  apparently  no 
prospect  of  having  his  condition  bettered. 
My  own  right  hand  was  getting  to  be  in  a 
very  bad  condition,  arising  from  a  little  scratch 
on  one  of  my  knuckles,  which  had  spread  rap 
idly,  and  bid  fair  to  render  it  unfit  for  use 
speedily,  unless  something  could  be  done  to 
arrest  it.  My  blood  seemed  in  a  terrible  state, 
and  my  system  full  of  scurvy,  for  I  had  not 
eaten  a  vegetable  of  any  kind  since  my  cap 
ture  in  April,  as  none  were  given  us,  and  we 
had  no  money  to  buy.  It  was  not  long  before 
I  had  to  give  up  the  care  of  the  "mess"  to 

Sergeant  G ,  as  it  became  impossible  to 

do  any  work  at  all.     In  this  state,  one  of  the 

SISTERS    OF    CHARITY 

did  a  good  thing  for  me.  I  asked  her  if  she 
would  be  so  kind  as  to  give  me  some  bandages 
for  my  hand.  "Wait  a  few  moments,"  said 
she;  and  she  immediately  went  to  an  ambu 
lance  which  stood  near  the  guard  line,  and 
returned  with  her  arms  full  of  things  for  the 
men.  Coming  towards  me,  she  put  quite  a 
large  package  of  something  done  up  in  a 


298  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

snow-white  napkin,  into  my  hand,  saying  that 
was  for  myself.  Thanking  her  heartily,  I 
walked  away,  wondering  what  it  could  be,  but 
did  not  examine  the  gift  until  I  reached  the 
boys.  I  then  undid  it,  and  found  it  to  contain 
some  superb  home-made  wheat  bread.  I  tore 
the  napkin  into  strips  for  bandages,  and  ad 
ministered  the  bread  internally,  and  with  such 
immediate  and  gratifying  results,  I  went  to 
sleep  as  happy  as  a  king. 

Every  day,  after  this,  two  or  three  of  these 
Sisters,  accompanied  sometimes  by  a  dapper- 
looking  little  Priest,  would  ride  over  from  the 
city  in  a  two-horse  ambulance,  which  was  well 
loaded  with  good  things  and  brought  into 
prison  to  be  dispensed  alike  to  Protestant  and 
Catholic. 

To  us  it  was  a  beautiful  sight  to  see  them 
come  right  in  among  us,  not  afraid  to  approach 
us,  dirty  and  ragged  as  we  were.  They  would 
have,  at  least,  a  kind  word  for  us,  but  often 
they  were  attended  by  some  more  solid  token 
of  sympathy,  and  in  the  gratitude  of  our 
hearts  we  said,  "May  God  bless  them  for  their 
kindness ! " 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  299 

The  rebels,  it  seemed,  fully  believed  that 
"variety"  was  the  "spice  of  life,"  for  they 
issued  in  a  single  day,  rice,  hominy,  corn-meal, 
flour,  beans,  beef,  soap,  and  salt.  It  sounds 
very  large,  but  in  reality  it  was  very  small,  for 
no  one  had  enough  of  each,  or  all,  to  do  any 
good. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  17th,  I  spoke 
to  -an  officer  respecting  my  own  admission  to 
the  hospital,  and  ascertaining  there  would 
probably  be  an  opportunity,  I  took  my  posi 
tion  .near  the  prison-gate,  with  two  of  my 
comrades,  and  waited  for  the  surgeon  to  make 
his  appearance.  After  a  long  while  he  came, 
and  as  a  result  of  the  interview  I  was  admit 
ted.  This  was  the  first  ^time  I  was  ever 
booked  in  such  an  institution,  and  I  thought  it 
might  be  the  last,  for  I  was  much  reduced  in 
strength,  and  there  seemed  to  me  no  great 
prospect  of  recovery.  We  had  no  food  that 
day  but  what  was  brought  us  by  the  kind 
ladies  of  the  city.  They  brought  bread,  soups, 
&c.,  which  were  divided  among  us,  thus  giving 
each  quite  a  taste  of  good  food.  The  surgeon 
made  us  a  visit  in  the  afternoon,  and  I  was 


300  LIFE   IN   REBEL    PRISONS. 

so  fortunate  as  to  get  my  hand  dressed  by 
him. 

The  next  day  was  the  Sabbath,  but  it  was 
so  painfully  unlike  holy  time  at  home,  that  we 
were  sad.  So  great  was  physical  depression 
with  me,  I  had  begun  to  despond,  and  I  won 
dered  if  I  should  ever  see  home  and  friends 
again.  We  had  been  deceived  so  many  times, 
I  had  no  confidence  in  an  exchange,  and  my 
hand  was  getting  so  crippled,  I  was  dependent 
on  my  comrades  for  even  ordinary  comforts. 
But  Faith  reasoned  that  it  was  the  time  above 
all  others  when  I  ought  to  look  beyond  myself 
to  Him  who  noteth  even  the  "sparrow's  fall," 
and  whose  grace  was  sufficient  for  support  in 
any  and  every  trial  that  His  trustful  ones  were 
called  to  endure.  While  engaged  in  these 
soothing  reflections,  the  surgeon  came  to  give 
attention  to  my  hand.  It  had  been  growing 
worse,  continually,  and  was  n<3w  filled  with 
gangrene.  I  began  to  be  sorely  afraid  that  I 
would  be  obliged  to  lose  it. 

External  things  did  not  conspire  to  render 
my  situation  particularly  pleasant.  I  could 
hear  the  church  bells  ring  for  service,  but  the 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  301 

summons  was  not  for  me,  for  I  was  a  prisoner, 
and  sick.  I  knew  that  our  forces  were  not 
very  far  away,  for  there  was  heavy  shelling 
upon  the  city,  all  the  day,  but  they  were  igno 
rant  of  my  condition,  and  could  not  help  me 
if  they  were  not. 

Our  hospital  had  really  no  claim  to  any 
such  title.  The  treatment  we  received  was  a 
mere  farce.  I  longed  to  gain  admission  to 
one  of  the  city  hospitals,  that  I  might  have 
more  of  some  things  which  seemed  absolutely 
indispensable  to  my  recovery.  There  \ve 
were,  about  four  hundred  patients,  sleeping 
upon  the  bare  ground,  with  no  covering  fur 
nished,  us  at  all,  and  no  tents  but  such  as  we 
could  make,  of  the  few  threadbare  blankets 
that  we  had  held  on  to,  since  our  capture. 
Every  afternoon  the  Surgeon,  a  young  physi 
cian  from  the  city,  would  pay  us  a  visit, 
sometimes  bringing  with  him  a  few  diarrhea 
powders  in  his  pocket,  or  a  few  drinks  of 
whisky  in  a  little  stone  jug.  We  very  much 
needed  acids,  for  the  scurvy,  but  these,  he 
declared,  it  was  impossible  to  obtain.  We 
thought  he  would  have  done  more  for  us  if  it 


302  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

had  been  in  his  power,  but  merely  good  inten 
tions  were  simply  aggravating,  when  men 
were  dying  as  they  were  there.  A  large 
number  of  the  strongest  men  were  returned 
to  the  prison,  on  Monday,  and  their  places 
filled  by  other  sick  ones,  but  many  of  them, 
however,  were  in  no  worse  condition  than 
some  who  were  sent  away.  I  now  submitted 
my  hand  to  the  painful  operation  of  severe 
cauterizing,  hoping  by  some  means  to  stay 
the  progress  of  the  poison. 

About  this  time  we  were  called  to  experi 
ence,  what  seemed  to  us,  simply  an 

ACT   OF   INHUMANITY. 

An  order  was  issued  from  head-quarters, 
for  the  hospital  camp  to  be  moved  at  a  greater 
distance  from  the  camp  of  the  5th  Georgia 
regiment,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  drenching 
rain,  the  sick  men  had  to  strike  their  blanket 
tents,  and  put  them  up  again  as  best  they 
could,  upon  the  wet,  soaked  ground,  in  the 
new  position.  "We  were  told  by  an  officer  of 
the  guard  that  there  was  considerable  yellow 
fever  in  the  city,  and  that  we  were  moved 
from  fear  of  contagion.  It  may  have  been 


LIFE   IX   REBEL   PRISONS.  303 

so,  but  the  following  day  brought  us  a  repeti 
tion  of  the  same  suffering. 

Early  in  the  morning  everybody  who  could 
walk,  no  matter  how  sick,  was  ordered  inside 
of  the  prison  camp  again,  and  so,  several 
hundred  of  us,  poor  fellows,  had  to  totter  in 
as  best  we  could,  many,  only  to  die  soon  after 
getting  there.  No  reason  was  assigned  for  the 
heartless  transaction.  How  we  longed  to 
hear  from  the  flag  of  truce  boat  which  had 
been  sent  down  the  harbor,  or  from  the  meet 
ing  of  the  exchange  commissioners. 

I  found  a  welcome  asylum  in  the  tent  of 
three  of  our  regiment,  who  promised  to  take 
care  of  me  until  I  was  better,  if  that  time 
should  ever  come.  We  received,  at  length, 
some  vinegar  with  our  rations,  but  in  exceed 
ingly  small  quantities.  Some  of  the  boys 
kindly  gave  me  what  was  assigned  to  them, 
and  by  putting  them  together  I  had  quite  a 
drink,  that  I  hoped  would  tell  favorably  upon 
my  diseased  hand.  But  it  was  not  so  easy  to 
gain  relief.  My  sufferings  became  so  intense 
that  I  was  finally  admitted  to  the  hospital 
again,  where  I  wras  told  that  it  was  impossible 


S04  LIFE   IN   REBEL    PRISONS. 

to  save  my  hand,  and  that  I  must  submit  to 
amputation.  I  was  sick  at  heart  to  think  of 
losing  it,  but  concluded  that  I  must  do  it?  or 
lose  my  life,,  and  therefore  I  chose  to  have  It 
performed.  I  was  sent  for,  and  taken  out  to 
the  amputating  room,  which  was  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  building  formerly  used  as  specta 
tors'  stand,  at  the  great  races.  Upon  arriving 
there  I  found  several  Surgeons,  with  the 
requisite  instruments  at  hand,  and  also  a 
crowd  of  Confederate  officers  and  soldiers, 
who  had  pressed  in  to  witness  the  operation. 
One  beside  myself  was  present  to  undergo 
similar  treatment,  which  was  also  rendered 
necessary  by  gangrene.  He  was  selected  as 
the  first  victim,  and  in  a  few  moments  he  was 
stretched  upon  the  floor,  with  the  chloroform 
at  his  nostrils.  It  took  some  time  to  get  him 
sufficiently  under  its  influence  to  begin  the 
work,  but  as  soon  as  the  prospect  justified  the 
attempt,  the  young  Surgeon  in  charge  of  us, 
applied  the  knife  and  the  saw,  and  in  a  very 
short  time  the  arm  was  off,  and  lying  beside 
the  unfortunate  man.  The  arteries  were 
quickly  taken  up,  the  blood  sponged  off,  and 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  305 

the  stump  properly  bandaged.  The  patient 
now  began  to  arouse  himself,  as  if  from  sleep, 
and  seeing  blood  upon  the  face  of  the  Sur 
geon,  he  began  to  laugh. 

"Aha!  old  boy,"  said  he,  " your . arm  is  off, 
did  you  know  it  ?"  He  glanced  at  the  place 
where  once  he  had  a  strong  right  arm,  and 
seemed  surprised  to  find  it  gone.  A  little 
whisky  was  then  given  him,  and  he  was 
removed. 

I  stood  by,  looking  on,  during  the  whole 
operation,  laboring  with  the  unpleasant  con 
viction  that  my  turn  came  next.  The  Sur 
geons  then  came  to  me  and  carefully  exam 
ined  my  hand,  The  one  in  charge  of  the 
prison  hospital  was  in  favor  of  amputation, 
but  the  other  three,  who  were  old,  gray- 
headed  men,  differed  from  him,  and  the  final 
decision  was  not  to  cut  it  off  then,  but  to  give 
it  a  little  longer  triaL  "What  moments  of  sus 
pense  were  those,  and  with  wrhat  a  rejoicing 
heart  did  I  leave  that  room,  when  I  found 
that  I  was  not  to  part  with  my  good  right 
hand,  the  value  of  which  I  had  never  known 
before. 


306  LIFE    IN    REBEL   PRISONS. 

I  received,  about  this  time,  $5.00  in  Con 
federate  money  from  our  kind-hearted  Major, 
and  a  similar  amount  from  our  Adjutant, 
both  of  them  being  confined  in  one  of  the 
city  prisons.  The  money  and  letters  were 
both  brought  me  by  the  Sisters  of  Charity, 
and  they  also  carried  back  my  messages  to 
them  in  reply.  I  invested  this  money  in  veg 
etables,  knowing  their  great  value  in  cases 
of  scurvy. 

A  rebel  sutler  came  up  every  day  from  the 
city,  with  one  or,  two  wagon  loads  of  bread, 
sweet  potatoes,  radishes,  salt,  and  other  arti 
cles,  which  he  sold  at  quite  reasonable  rates, 
considering  the  high  prices  that  were  de 
manded  for  everything  in  the  Confederacy. 
His  price  for  bread  was  fifty  cents  for  a  small 
loaf,  and  twice  the  amount  for  one  a  little 
larger.  Sweet  potatoes  were  $10.00  a  bushel; 
cooking  soda  $10.00  per  pound;  pepper,  in 
the  berry,  $20.00  a  pound ;  radishes,  ten  for 
$5.00,  and  other  articles  in  the  same  propor 
tion.  These  prices,  however,  were  in  Confed 
erate  currency,  which  was  w^orth  but  little 
compared  with  Uncle  Abe's  "greenbacks." 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  807 

One  'dollar  of  the  latter  was  worth  seven  of 
the  former.  At  Andersonville  it  had  been 
five  to  one.  We  thought  it  something  to  be 
proud  of,  that  our  money  commanded  so  large 
a  premium  in  the  very  heart  of  the  Confede 
racy.  The  loaves  of  bread  which  we  bought 
for  one  dollar,  were  about  the  size  of  a  five 
cent  loaf  at  home,  and  he  would  have  charged 
more  for  them,  as  well  as  his  other  things,  had 
not  Lieut  Col.  Iverson,  the  rebel  commander, 
checked  him  in  his  exorbitant  demands,  and 
forbid  him  taking  any  more  than  would  be 
required  for  the  same  things  in  the  city. 

This  was  one  good  quality  in  the  rebel,  we 
thought.  This  officer  was  a  young,  boyish- 
looking  fellow,  but  one  glance  at  his  face 
revealed  a  great  deal  of  decision  and  energy, 
and  his  soldiers  obeyed  him  unhesitatingly,  as 
indeed  they  did  all  their  officers,  down  even 
to  their  Corporals.  I  never  saw  but  one 
instance  of  disobedience  of  orders  by  a  rebel 
soldier,  and  that  was  at  Charleston,  when  the 
men  had  crowded  rather  too  closely  upon  the 
"dead  line,"  at  the  prison  entrance.  Col. 
Daniels,  of  the  5th  Georgia  regiment,  seeing 


308  LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

it,  stepped  up  to  ons  of  the  guards N  and 
ordered  him  to  fire  into  us.  He  replied,  "I 
can  not  do  it,  Colonel."  "  I  order  you  to  fire 
into  those  men,"  repeated  the  Colonel,  sternly, 
and  again  the  soldici-  said,  "  Colonel,  I  can  not 
do  it"  The  Colonel  said  no  more,  but  turn 
ing  on  his  heel,  he  walked  rapidly  away,  and 
I  never  knew  whether  the  soldier  was  pun 
ished  fbr  his  disobedience  or  not. 
The  name  of 

THE  YOUNG  SURGEON 

in  charge  of  the  prisoners,  was  Yarmony,  and 
he  was  what  was  usually  termed,,  "a  fast 
young  man"  He  wore  a  tasty  looking  Con 
federate  uniform,  but  seemed  to  care  nothing 
at  all  which  side  was  successful  in  the  war. 
He  had  been,  in  other  times,  a  medical  student 
in  Kew  York  city,  and  said  "he'd  like  to  be 
there  again."  We  generally  thought  he  did 
what  he  could  for  us,  considering  the  limited 
means  at  his  disposal,  but  there  was  one  thing 
the  doctor  could  not  possibly  do,  and  that 
was  to  speak  without  badly  stuttering.  'One 
of  the  hospital  attendants  was  the  fortunate 
possessor  of  a  medium  sort  of  violin,  and  he 


'•      LIFE  IN  REBEL   PRISONS.  309 

used  frequently  to  tune  his  instrument  and 
strike  up  a  lively  piece,  much  to  our  gratifica 
tion.  It  happened  that  the  Doctor  was  a  great 
lover  of  music,  and  the  melodious  strains  came, 
to  his  ear  one  day,  when  he  was  making  his 
rounds  among  the  sick.  From  that  time  until 
we  left,  he  made  it  his  daily  practice,  after 
making  his  examinations  and  prescriptions,  to 
come  round  and  have  some  favorite  air  played 
for  his  special  benefit.  There  was  one  lively 
thing,  in  particular,  which  he  very  much  liked, 
and  which  he  called  the  "  I-I-rishman."  The 
first  thing  he  would  say,  usually,  after  sitting 
down,  would  be, — "C-c-come,  F-F-Ferguson, 
p-play  us  the  I-I-rishman ;"  so  he  would  give 
him  this  and  other  lively  pieces.  Then  he 
would  say,  "N-now  p-play  something  s-soft;" 
and  then  something  of  this  sort  would  follow, 
much  to  the  Doctor's  edification. 

Still  again  he  would  urge,  "S-s-sing  some 
thing."  It  so  happened  that  Hope,  a  member 
of  our  regiment,  was  also  on  duty  as  an  attend 
ant  in  the  hospital,  and  he  was  widely  known 
as  the  boy  who  could  sing  a  song  or  dance  a 
jig  equal  to  any  one.  The  Doctor,  being  told 


310  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

of  this,  turned  to  him,  saying,  "  C-c-come,  Hope, 
s-s-sing  us  s-s-something,  n-never  mind  w-w-what 
it  is."  Hope  wished  to  be  excused,  but  no ; 
the  Doctor  would  not  hear  of  any  excuse,  so 
without  saying  anything  more,  he  sang  the 
following  "true  blue"  Union  song,  to  the  music 
of  "The  Sword  of  Bunker  Hill." 

Sadly  we  gazed  upon  that  Flag, 

Torn  from  a  brother's  hand ; 
And  shed  a  tear  for  those  once  loved, 

Now  joined  to  traitor's  band. 
They  have  left  the  Flag  of  Washington, 

The  Flag  our  Fathers  gave ; 
A  richer  boon  was  never  given, 

No  prouder  flag  to  wave. 

But  when  Jeff.  Davis*  raised  his  hand, 

To  marshal  for  the  fight, 
Six  hundred  thousand  freemen  rose 

To  battle  for  the  right. 
Then  to  our  God  the  prayer  went  up, — 

Protect  our  noble  band! 
God  bless  our  cause ! — our  Flag  now  waves 

Within  the  traitor's  land. 

Down,  down  with  that  base  Rebel  Flag ! 

Tread  it  beneath  your  feet; 
And  gaily  to  the  breeze  unfurl 

That  Flag  we  love  to  greet. 
Wave  on,  wave  on,  thou  glorious  Flag ! 

And  still  our  song  shall  be, 
Long  live,  long  live  that  good  old  Flag,— • 

Three  cheers,  three  cheers,  for  thee ! 

The  Doctor  seemed  not  at  all  displeased 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  311 

with  the  sentiments  of  the  song,  but  if  he 
-were,  he  very  quietly  kept  it  to  himself. 

The  shelling  of  the  city  continued  the  whole 
time  we  were  there.  During  the  day  the  ex 
plosion  of  the  shells  would  not  be  heard  on 
account  of  the  noise  in  the  camp ;  but  at 
night,  when  all  was  still,  we  could  distinctly 
hear  the  booming  of  the  cannon,  and  the 
scream  of  the  shell  from  the  moment  it  left 
the  muzzle  of  the  gun,  until  it  fell,  with  a 
crash,  into  some  building  of  the  city,  and 
there  exploded  with  a  dull  sound.  The  papers 
claimed  that  no  lives  had  been  sacrificed,  but 
we  heard  from  Union  people  that  a  great 
many  had  been  killed,  and  that  a  large  part 
of  the  city  was  entirely  uninhabited. 

Receiving  no  medicine  one  day,  we  learned 
through  the  Surgeon  that  one  of  our  shells 
had  visited  the  office  of  the  Medical  Purveyor 
and  rendered  it  necessary  to  remove  it  to  a 
safer  place;  consequently,  the  usual  issues 
were  withheld. 


312  LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

THE'  YELLOW   FEVER 

began  to  rage  fearfully,  and  many  of  the  offi 
cers  and  men  among  our  guards,  of  the  5th 
Georgia  Regiment,  died  of  it.  It  did  not  make 
its  appearance,  however,  among  the  prisoners, 
until  about  the  1st  of  October.  Two  of  the 
hospital  attendants  were  then  seized  with  it, 
and  were  at  once  removed  to  a  place  used 
solely  for  such  cases.  Then  commenced  our 
removal  from  Charleston  to  Florence,  which 
was  prosecuted  with  as  much  rapidity  as  pos 
sible,  and  we  were  not  sorry  to  have  a  long 
distance  intervene  between  us  and  the  dreaded 
disease.  About  fifteen  hundred  a  day  wrere 
taken,  and  the  last  of  us  left  on  the  8th. 
Those  wrho  were  well  went  first,  and  the  sick 
in  the  hospital  last.  I  was  one  of  the  last  to 
leave  the  spot,  and  therefore  happened  to  bo 
an  eye-witness  of  a  very  laughable  affair. 
Squads  of  rebel  soldiers  and  a  few  of  their 
officers  were  sauntering  lazily  over  the  desert 
ed  camp,  when  suddenly  and  accidentally  they 
made  an  important  discovery.  Two  of  the 
prisoners  had  got  into  a  well  during  the  night, 


LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  313 

and  had  been  covered  over  with  some  old  rub 
bish  by  their  comrades,  hoping  in  this  way  to 
remain  concealed  until  darkness  should  come 
again,  when  they  designed  to  crawl  out  and 
make  for  our  forces  at  Port  Royal  ferry.  They 
had  either  been  hastily  or  carelessly  covered, 
and  in  consequence,  one  of  the  "Johnnies" 
had  caught  a  glimpse  of  them.  Of  course 
they  were  immediately  unearthed  and  brought 
forth,  looking  dirty,  and  evidently  feeling 
rather  cheap  to  be  made  the  subject  of  laugh 
ter  both  by  the  rebels  and  their  own  men  also. 
The  rebels  now  went  to  work,  and  probed  the 
ground  with  short  sticks,  and  thus  succeeded 
in  digging  out  quite  a  number  of  "Yanks" 
who  were  attempting  this  underground  way 
to  freedom.  This  was  an  entirely  new  dodge 
to  the  rebels,  and  one  which  they  had  not 
dreamed  of,  and  but  for  that  unfortunate 
glimpse,  it  would  have  been  a  success.  After 
the  ground  had  been  thoroughly  canvassed, 
and  they  were  convinced  that  no  more  of  us 
were  stowed  away,  we  were  loaded  into  the 
cars,  which  were  in  waiting,  and  soon  sped 
away  to  Florence  and  another  stockade. 


314  LIFE    IN   REBEL    PRISONS. 

That  ride  I  shall  never  forget.     The  cars,  as 
usual,  were  simply  those  which  had  been  used 
for  freight,  and  they  were  filled  to  their  utmost 
capacity  with  the  sick,  many  of  them  so  bad 
and  helpless  as  to  be  brought  to  the  cars  on 
stretchers.     Most  of  them  were  covered  with 
filth  and  vermin,  and  the  odor  that  filled  the 
place  where  wre  were  was  suffocating.     As  if 
apprehensive  that  these  skeletons,  like  riches, 
might   "take    to    themselves    wings    and    fly 
away,"  a  couple  of  guards  were  placed  over 
us,  to  keep  us  in  the  proper  sphere.     It  may 
be,  however,  that  they  were  not  unmindful  of 
what  had  once  occurred  at  Andersonville,  and 
concluded  that  no   precaution   could   be    too 
great.     It  was  the  custom  in  the  prison  there, 
to  carry  a  man's  body  to  the  "dead  house"  on 
a  stretcher,  as  soon  as  the  breath  was  gone. 
One  day  a  man  so  successfully  counterfeited 
death,  that  he  was  carried  out  of  the  gate, 
past  the  scrutinizing  gaze  of  the  guards,  and 
deposited  in  the  wonted  place  with  a  long  row 
of  really  dead  men,  where  he  remained  im 
movable  until  the  shades  of  night  came  on, 
when  he  "made  himself  scarce."     Ever  after 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  315 

that,  a  sentinel  was  placed  over  the  dead,  to 
see  that  they  did  not  run  away. 

At  one  of  the  stations  between  Charleston 
and  Florence,  the  train  stopped  for  wood  and 
water.  An  old  darkey  woman  came  out  with 
several  " pones"  of  corn-bread  for  sale  at  $2 
apiece,  in  Confederate  money.  My  whole 
worldly  fortune  consisted  of  just  that  amount, 
and  as  I  was  very  hungry,  I  concluded  to 
invest  it  in  that  way.  She  had  only  one  or 
two  cakes  left,  however,  and  a  score  of  voices 
were  shouting,  "  This  way,  Aunty ! " — "  Let  me 
have  it !  " — "  Here 's  your  money ! "  &c.,  but  by 
dint  of  great  yelling,  and  continued  waving  of 
the  dirty-looking  bill,  I  finally  secured  one  of 
the  "pones,"  and  when  I  got  it,  it  was  nothing 
but  meal  and  water  baked  before  the  fire  with 
out  any  salt ;  but  it  tasted  good  then. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

ARRIVAL     AT     FLORENCE. 

WE  made  our  entrance  into  Florence,  or,  as 
we  afterward  learned,  about  a  mile  from  it, 


316  LIFE   IN   REBEL    PRISONS. 

at  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening.  Here  we  were 
ordered  to  leave  the  cars,  and  spend  the  night 
in  what  had  once  been  a  corn-field,  making 
our  bed  between  the  furrows.  It  was  a  cold, 
frosty  night,  and  we  suffered  intensely.  Our 
guards  had  bright,  good  fires,  but  we  were 
neither  allowed  to  come  nigh  them,  or  get 
any  wood  for  ourselves ;  so  all  we  could  do 
was  to  let  our  teeth  chatter,  our  knees  knock 
together,  and  wait  for  daylight  and  the  warmth 
of  the  sun.  When  it  did  rise,  we  well-nigh 
forgot  these  things  in  that  other  thing  it  dis 
closed — the  dreaded  stockade  ! 

At  about  eight  or  nine  we  entered  the 
prison,  and  although  our  sensations  were  dif 
ferent  than  when  we  entered  our  Georgia 
prison,  yet  I  think  we  felt  worse  now  than  we 
did  then ;  for  at  that  time  we  did  not  dream 
of  being  held  but  a  short  time,  and  now  we 
were  asking  ourselves  in  fear,  "Can  we  live 
here  through  this  winter?"  Then, again, when 
we  entered  Andersonville,  we  wrere  strong  and 
robust,  while  now,  those  of  us  who  were  alive 
were  broken  down  by  long-continued  exposure 
to  all  weather  and  all  diseases.  In  the  sorrow 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  317 

of  our  hearts,  we  inquired,  "What  can  the 
government  be  thinking  of,  that  it  leaves  us 
here,  month  after  month  ?" 

The  interior  of  the  prison,  in  its  general 
features,  resembled  very  much  our  old  place 
of  confinement.  A  swampy  spot  extended 
through  the  center,  with  a  hill  upon  each  side, 
but  in  one  respect  this  was  far  superior,  inas 
much  as  a  fine  stream  of  clear,  cold  water  ran 
through  the  whole  prison.  The  stockade 
enclosed,  it  would  seem,  about  fifteen  acres  of 
land,  nearly  five  of  which  were  rendered  una 
vailable  by  its  being  so  swampy. 

The  "dead  line"  there  was  marked  by  a 
shallow  ditch,  or  furrow,  having  no  railing  at 
all.  Instead  of  sentry  boxes,  the  guards 
walked  upon  an  elevated  beat  of  earth,  which 
was  thrown  up  so  high  as  to  overlook  the 
camp, — the  top  of  the  stockade  reaching 
about  breast  high  to  a  man  of  common  height. 

The  enclosure  itself  was  built  of  unhewn 
trunks  of  trees,  of  nearly  a  uniform  length, 
which  were  let  into  the  ground,  and  placed 
side  by  side  very  closely.  No  tents  or  shelter 
of  any  kind  were  furnished  us. 


East. 


STOCKADE. 
DEAD  LINES. 
HOSPITAL. 
PRISON  GATE. 
BROOK. 


"West. 

6.  SWAMP. 

7.  CAUSEWAY  AND  BRIDGE. 

8.  ELEVATED  PLATFORM  FOR  AR 

TILLERY. 
0.    STREETS. 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  319 

When  prisoners  were  first  put  into  it,  a 
large  number  of  trees  were  left  standing,  but 
they  had  all  been  cut  down  when  we  entered^ 
and  the  stumps  were  being  wTorked  up.  Part 
of  our  regiment  were  among  the  first  to  enter 
at  this  time,  and  we  improved  the  opportunity 
to  lay  in  an  ample  store  of  wood  for  the  win 
ter  ;  beside  we  were  able  to  build  some  quite 
comfortable  huts  with  the  material  we  gath 
ered.  The  5th  Georgia  regiment,  which 
guarded  us  at  Charleston,  were  sent  on  to 
guard  us  here.  There  were  also  several  bat 
talions  of  conscripts,  or  "reserves,"  stationed 
there  for  the  same  purpose. 

We  found  with  surprise  and  sorrow  that 
many  of  our  men  had  really  taken  the  oath 
of  allegiance  to  the  Confederacy,  and  had 
gone  into  the  Southern  army,  and  that  still 
more  had  signified  their  intention  of  doing  it. 
Over  at  our  left  was  a  camp  which  we  were 
told  was  occupied  by  those  prisoners  who  had 
taken  the  oath.  It  was  not  hard  to  account 
for  it.  They  were  ragged,  half  starved,  and 
death  was  staring  them  in  the  face. 

By  entering  the  Southern  army  they,  no 


320  LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS. 

doubt;  expected  to  receive  better  food,  and  it 
was  their  hope  and  intention,  also,  to  escape 
at  the  first  opportunity.  We  all  shuddered  at 
the  prospect  of  staying  through  the  winter 
in  the  Confederacy,  if,  indeed,  we  should  live 
so  long. 

Our  rations,  at  first,  were  flour,  corn  meal 
and  beans.  We  were  organized  as  in  Charles 
ton,  into  "thousands"  and  "hundreds," — the 
whole  number  being  about  twelve  thousand. 

Soon  after  our  entrance,  we  heard  that  most 
of  our  comrades  whom  we  had  left  behind  in 
the  Georgia  prison,  because  they  were  too  sick 
to  go  with  us,  and  whom  we  had  never 
expected  to  see  again,  were  really  in  the  hos 
pital,  about  a  mile  from  us.  We  had  a  great 
curiosity  to  see  them,  and  hear  of  their  adven 
tures  since  September,  and,  indeed,  necessity 
seemed  to  render  it  quite  probable  that  I 
might  be  an  inmate  of  the  hospital,  too,  for 
my  hand,  though  better  than  it  had  been,  was 
still  a  source  of  great  trouble,  and  needed 
care.  At  about  four  o'clock  every  afternoon, 
the  Surgeon  in  charge,  Dr.  Strother,  would 
come  to  the  prison  gate  and  take  out  all  whom 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  321 

he  thought  best  to  have  go.  Those  who  were 
able,  walked  to  the  appointed  place.,  and  an 
army  wagon,  drawn  by  a  span  of  mules,  con 
veyed  the  rest. 

One  afternoon  I  presented  myself  at  the 
gate,  with  a  score  or  more  of  the  sick,  and 
when  the  doctor  came  he  kindly  admitted  me 
to  the  hospital  with  the  others,  although  my 
general  health  was  quite  good  at  the  time,  the 

vegetables  I  had  procured  at  C having 

infused  new  life  into  my  system.  I  went  with 
those  who  were  able  to  walk,  but  as  most  of 
the  crowd  were  lame  with  the  scurvy,  we  had 
to  march  at  a  slow  pace  to  accommodate  them. 
We  reached  the  place  of  our  destination  just 
before  sunset,  and  found  it  guarded,  and  also 
surrounded  by  a  "dead  line."  Some  preten 
sions  to  shelter  were  made,  in  the  shape  of 
nine  long  sort  of  sheds,  made  of  a  frame-work 
of  poles  overlaid  with  pine  boughs,  which 
afforded  some  protection  from  the  sun,  but 
none  at  all  from  the  rain. 

There  were  ward  divisions,  eleven  in  num 
ber,  and  each  one  was  in  charge  of  a  ward- 
master,  assisted  by  from  eight  to  ten  nurses. 


822  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

There  were  also  seven  stewards,  whose  busi 
ness  it  was  to  receive  the  medicine  from  the 
dispensary,  and  see  that  it  was  faithfully 
administered  to  the  sick,  of  whom  there  were 
about  sixty  in  each  ward. 

Not  far  from  the  middle  of  the  month  I 
recovered  sufficiently  to  be  detailed  as  a 

HOSPITAL  STEWARD, 

procuring  the  situation  quite  readily  because 
of  my  knowledge  of  medicines,  having  been 
a  drug  clerk  before  entering  the  army.  In  a 
day  or  two  after  this,  in  company  with  a  num 
ber  of  the  other  hospital  attendants,  I  was 
marched  over  to  the  head-quarters  of  Lieut. 
Col.  Iverson,  and  there  signed  the  following 
parole  of  honor : 

HEAD-QUARTERS,  MILITARY  PRISON, 

FLORENCE,  S.  C.,  Oct.  19th,  1864. 

"I,  R.  H.  Kellogg,  Sergeant  Major  16th  Conn.  Vols.,  a  paroled 
prisoner  of  war,  do  hereby  pledge  my  word  of  honor  that  I  will 
not  violate  my  parole  by  going  beyond  one-half  mile  from  the  hos 
pital  limits. 

Witness,  C.  H.  MOODY.  (Signed,)  R.  H.  KELLOGG. 

I  now  had  a  good  opportunity  to  observe 
many  things,  which  otherwise  I  would  never 
have  known.  Whenever  I  could  get  away 


LIFE   IN  REBEL   PRISONS.  323 

for  an  hour  or  so,  without  neglecting  my 
duties,  I  did  so.  About  this  time,  Dr.  Strother, 
the  young  Surgeon  who  had  been  in  charge, 
was  taken  with  the  yellow  fever,  and  nearly 
lost  his  life  in  consequence.  His  place  was 
supplied  by  the  Assistant  Surgeon,  Junius 
O'Brien,  a  Kentuckian,  and  one  of  the  most 
rabid  secessionists  I  had  ever  known.  When 
he  detailed  me  as  a  steward,  he  asked  me  what 
State  I  was  from.  "  Connecticut,  sir,"  was  my 
reply.  "Well,"  said  he, "lam  down  on  men 
from  that  State.  That's  where  they  make 
wooden  nutmegs,  isn't  it?"  "Yes,  sir!  and 
oak  hams,  too."  I  passed,  however,  notwith 
standing  the  unfortunate  connection. 

While  there  we  received  a  large  lot  of  sup 
plies  from  the  U.  S.  Sanitary  Commission,  con 
sisting  of  shirts,  drawers,  hats,  shoes,  stock 
ings,  slippers,  dressing  gowns,  blankets,  bed- 
quilts,  besides  things  for  the  comfort  of  the 
sick,  such  as  condensed  coffee  and  milk, 
extract  of  beef,  tomatoes  in  tin  cans,  &c. 
These  articles  were  stored  in  the  log  house 
used  as  a  dispensary,  and  one  of  the  prisoners 
placed  in  charge  of  them.  They  were  drawn 


324  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

from  this  place  as  they  were  needed,  by  the 
stewards,  and  by  them  given  to  the  ward-mas 
ters,  who  issued  them  to  the  sick  men  in  their 
respective  wards,  they  keeping  an  account  of 
them  as  they  were  expended.  The  Surgeon 
and  other  officers  acted  very  honorably,  allow 
ing  nothing  to  be  stolen  or  wasted. 

The  supply  of  medicines  for  the  sick  were 
obtained  from  Dr.  Chisholm,  the  medical  pur 
veyor  at  Columbia,  S.  C.  They  were  limited 
in  their  variety,  and  entirely  insufficient  in 
quantity.  What  was  furnished  for  a  month's 
supply,  was  barely  sufficient  for  half  that 
period.  When  the  drugs  failed  entirely,  resort 
was  had  to  the  bark  of  forest  trees,  of  which 
strong  decoctions  were  made.  One  of  the 
principal  remedies  for  diarrhea  was  prepared 
from  oak,  sweet  gum,  and  persimmon  bark. 
There  was  also  a  tonic  made  from  the  bark  of 
the  wild  cherry. 

Nearly  all  the  packages  of  herbs  in  the 
dispensary,  bore  the  label  of  the  "C.  S.  A. 
Laboratory,"  but  the  quinine,  and  valuable 
drugs,  had  on  a  foreign  label,  English,  I  think, 
and  undoubtedly  found  their  way  into  the 
country  by  way  of  the  blockade  runners. 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS,  325 

A  sour  beer  was  made  from  corn  meal,  and 
administered  to  those  who  had  the  scurvy, 
with  very  good  effect.  But  a  great  many  of 
our  men  died  there,  and  were  buried  on  the 
plantation  of  Dr.  Garrett,  a  wealthy  land 
holder,  and  an  owner  of  many  slaves,  but  who 
was  said  to  be  a  Union  man.  He  offered  to 
enclose  the  ground  used  as  a  place  of  burial, 
by  a  railing,  to  preserve  it  from  desecration, 
though  I  am  not  aware  that  it  was  ever  done. 
The  dead  were  carted  away  from  the  hospital 
every  morning,  in  an  army  wagon  drawn  by 
mules.  The  deaths  amounted  to  twelve  per 
cent,  per  month  of  the  whole  number.  As 
in  Andersonville,  they  were  piled  one  upon 
another  until  the  wagon  was  filled.  A  party 
of  prisoners  were  at  work  every  day  digging 
trenches  where  the  bodies  of  the  dead  soldiers 
were  to  be  laid. 

About  the  20th  of  the  month  the  hospital, 
with  all  the  sick,  was  removed  inside  the 
stockade,  a  reason  for  which  we  never  ascer 
tained.  For  some  time  after,  the  sick  were 
without  shelter,  but  by  the  first  of  November 
one  barrack,  or  shed,  was  completed  &r  their 
14 


326  LIFE  IN    REBEL   PRISONS. 

accommodation,  and  preparation  made  for  the 
erection  of  more. 

These  structures  would  highly  excite  the 
risibles  of  a  Northern  house-builder.  Two  of 
them  were  seventy-five  feet  long,  and  thirty- 
one  in  width,  without  a  nail  in  them.  The 
frames  were  made  of  timber,  cut  in  the 
swamp  near  the  prison,  and  fastened  together 
with  wooden  pins.  The  roof  was  made  of 
"shakes,"  or  shingles  held  on  by  heavy  poles 
for  weights. 

Dr.  O'Brien  was  now  relieved  of  his  duties 
as  Surgeon  in  charge,  by  Dr.  David  Fludd, 
who  was  one  of  the  original  signers  of  the 
Secession  Act  which  placed  South  Carolina 
out  of  the  Union.  He  was  very  kind  and 
gentlemanly,  however,  with  us,  and  won  the 
respect  of  all  who  knew  him. 

A  number  of  other  surgeons  arrived  about 
this  time,  and  were  assigned  to  duty  in  the 
hospital.  More  patients  were  admitted  also, 
until  the  whole  number  amounted  to  nearly 
eight  hundred,  so  many  that  they  could  hardly 
gain  sufficient  attention  to  obtain  prescriptions 
or  havb  medicine  dispensed  to  them  as  often 


LIFE  IN  REBEL   PRISONS.  327 

as  necessary  by  the  stewards.     The  5th  ward, 
which  was  assigned  to  me,  had  at  one  time 
over  one  hundred  and  fifty  patients  in  it,  and 
some  of  them  very  sick,  to  whom  I  had  to 
give   medicine,  with  the  help  of  the  nurses, 
three  times  a  day,  and  sometimes  oftener.     It 
scarcely  allowed  me  time  to  eat,  and  it  was  so 
with  the  other  stewards.     Another  supply  of 
Sanitary  Commission  stores  reached  us  while 
in  this  condition.     Among  other  things  a  large 
quantity  of  sheets  were   sent,  some  of  them 
entirely  newr,  and  of  fine  quality.     The  sick 
men  in  the  hospital  were  lying  upon  the  bare 
ground,  and  these  would  do  them  but  little 
good  to  be  spread  down  in  the  dirt,  so  it  was 
decided  by  the  principal  surgeon  that  they  be 
exchanged  for  sweet  potatoes,  as  these  would 
be  of  more  real  benefit  to  the  men,  especially 
those  suffering  with  the  scurvy.     A  notice  to 
this    effect   was    posted   in    several    different 
places,  and   soon  the  ladies,  young  and  old, 
were   flocking   in   from   all    the    surrounding 
country,  anxious  to  make  the  exchange.     In 
this  way  quite  a  large  quantity  of  potatoes 
was  gained  and  issued  to  the  men  in  the  hos- 


328  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

pital.  The  old  sheets  were  used  for  bandages, 
and  were  invaluable  for  this  purpose,  as  many 
amputations  of  limbs,  affected  by  gangrene, 
were  almost  constantly  taking  place.  Many 
of  the  ladies  who  came  to  the  Dispensary  to 
examine  the  goods,  were  dressed  in  the  height 
of  fashion,  wearing  clothing  of  the  most 
costly  material,  It  was  difficult  to  see  where 
the  war  had  cost  them  much  personal  suf 
fering 

On  each  corner  of  the  prison  was  a  raked 
platform ;  and  from  two  of  these,  pieces  of  ar 
tillery  frowned  upon  the  helpless  men  inside. 
At  all  hours  of  the  day  and  night,  a  man  stood 
by  these  guns,  ready  for  action  in  case  of  any 
attempted  outbreak  on  our  part. 

The  ladies  usually  concluded  their  visits  by 
ascending  to  the  top  of  one  of  these  platforms, 
accompanied  by  the  Confederate  officers,  and 
there  laugh  and  joke  at  the  misery  of  their 
enemies.  No  true  lady  would  have  stood  there 
and  looked  with  such  spirit  at  the  sights  before 
them ;  but  they  seemed  to  enjoy  it. 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  329 

As  the 

PRESIDENTIAL    ELECTION 

drew  nigh,  the  rebels  became  intensely  excited, 
and  eager  to  know  the  result.  McClellan  was 
their  universal  favorite,  and  they  built  high 
hopes  upon  the  success  of  this  cause.  "If 
McClellan  is  elected,"  they  would  say,  "we 
shall  have  peace  in  a  short  time."  I  never 
remember  hearing  this  candidate  spoken  of  in 
any  other  terms  than  those  of  the  warmest 
commendation. 

On  the  day  of  election,  a  quantity  of  white 
and  black  beans  were  given  to  Sergeant  Kemp 
of  the  1st  Conn.  Cavalry,  by  the  Rebel  Quar 
termaster,  with  the  understanding  that  they 
be  used  as  ballots,  whereby  the  political  opin 
ions  of  the  prisoners  might  be  ascertained  : 
the  white  ^  beans  representing  McClellan,  and 
the  black  ones  President  Lincoln.  Two  empty 
bags  were  hung  up  on  the  stockade,  inside  the 
"  dead  line,"  and  the  "  thousands  "  were  ordered 
to  fall  in,  in  succession,  and  all  who  wished  to 
vote,  to  march  in  line  to  the  spot.  Beans 
were  given  them,  and  one  by  one  they  stepped 
up  and  deposited  their  vote  as  they  chose,  a 


330  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

man  standing  by,  the  while,  to  see  that  no 
fraud  was  committed.  It  was  conducted  fairly 
and  quietly,  but  the  result  was  not  particularly 
gratifying  to  those  who  commenced  it.  I  have 
not  the  exact  figures,  but  I  think  the  propor 
tion  was  two  and  a  half  for  Lincoln  to  one  for 
McClellan.  This  was  an  expression  of  feeling 
and  opinion  among  men  who  were  ragged  and 
half  famishing  with  hunger,  yet  were  not  in 
favor  of  any  peace  gained  by  disgraceful  com 
promise.  In  about  a  week  after  this,  the 
result  of  the  great  contest  at  the  North  was 
known,  and  the  rebels  were  blue  indeed.  Such 
a  set  of  sour,  gloomy-looking  fellows  is  rarely 
met  with  anywhere. 

They  understood  the  full  significance  of  the 
re-election.  They  knew  with  sorrow  they 
could  not  yet  lay  their  armor  off,  and  that 
their  favorite  hobby  of  "independence  from 
Yankee  rule"  was  far  from  being  realized. 
This  vote  of  the  prisoners  was  all  the  more 
valuable  from  the  fact  that  the  *  Administra 
tion  had  been  constantly  misrepresented  by 
the  Confederate  officers,  to  the  men  who  had 
but  little  if  any  means  of  finding  out  anything 


LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  331 

to  the  contrary.  I  had  myself  heard  Dr.  O' 
Brien  repeatedly  say  to  our  men,  "Your  Gov 
ernment  does  n't  care  anything  for  you;"  and, 
"Your  Government  will  not  exchange  such  of 
you  as  have  served  your  time  out;"  and  for 
proof  of  his  statements  he  would  refer  to  the 
refusal  of  Gen.  Sherman  to  exchange  a  couple 
of  thousand  rebels  for  an  equal  number  of  our 
men,  held  by  Gen.  Hood,  whose  term  of  service 
had  expired.  "  Was  it  a  wonder,  then,  shut  out 
from  the  world  as  we  were,  that  the  faith  of 
many  in  our  Government  was  changed  to  dis 
trust?" 
One  of  the 

PUNISHMENTS 

at  Florence,  for  attempting  to  escape,  was  to 
suspend  the  offender  by  the  thumbs,  with  the 
feet  from  the  ground,  thus  bringing  the  entire 
weight  of  the  body  upon  the  thumbs.  One 
afternoon,  wiiile  at  the  dispensary,  which  was 
outside  of  the  stockade,  and  but  a  few  rods 
from  the  guard-house,  I  was  attracted  by  the 
cries  and  groans  of  some  one  who  was  evi 
dently  in  intense  agony.  Turning  my  eyes  in 


332  LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS. 

the  direction  of  the  sound,  I  saw  for  the  first 
time,  one  of  the  prisoners  undergoing  this  ter 
rible  torture.     He  was  hanging  from  one   of 
the  beams  which  projected  from  the  roof  of 
the  guard-house,  swinging  in  the  air,  and  cry 
ing,  "Oh,  for  God's  sake,  have  mercy  upon 
me !     Let  me  down !     Oh !   mercy !  mercy ! " 
But  mercy  was  something  that  his  tormentors 
were  not  blessed  with.     My  blood  boiled  as  I 
witnessed  this  inhuman  punishment,  and  I  re 
marked  that  "  I  would  rather  be  hung  by  the 
neck,  than  to  be  in  such  misery."     One  of  the 
surgeons  heard  me  say  it,  and  reported  it  to 
O'Brien,  who  immediately  came  to  me,  and 
wanted  to  know  what  remarks  I  had  made.     I 
repeated  the  words  I  had  uttered.     "Well," 
said  he,  in  a  great  passion,  "I  detailed  you  to 
assist  in  the  hospital,  and  not  to  pass  remarks 
upon  the  doings  of  the  Confederate  Govern 
ment;  and  if  you  are  not  satisfied,  you  can 
return  to  the  stockade."      He  continued  his 
remarks  by  saying  it  was  his  duty  to  support 
his  Government  in  all  things,  and  not  to  ques 
tion  whether  they  were  right  or  wrong.     After 
a  long  talk  upon  the  enormity  of  my  offence, 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  335 

I  was  allowed  to  return  to  duty,  Then,  prob 
ably  thinking  that  he  would  improve  the  op 
portunity  to  the  utmost,  he  assembled'  all  the 
prisoners  who  were  working  outside  on  parole, 
and  gave  them  instructions  as  to  the  course  it 
was  proper  for  them  to  pursue.  "You  can 
think"  he  said  to  them,  "what  you  please,  but 
you  must  not  express  your  opinions." 

This  was  a  right  he  reserved  for  himself, 
and  he  was  ^constantly  forcing  his  opinions 
upon  us.  It  was  his  favorite  practice  to  sit  in 
the  dispensary  by  the  hour,  and  recite  to  us 
tales  of  shocking  barbarities  perpetrated  by 
our  troops ;  but  he  never  allowed  us  to  speak 
of  a  single  instance  of  rebel  cruelty.  It  was 
also  particularly  distasteful  to  him  to  hear  of 
any  circumstance  in  which  a  Yankee  got  the 
better  of  a  Southerner  in  any  way.  But 
things  occurred  sometimes  to  show  it  unto 
him, — as,  for  example,  the  following  incident: 

The  rebel  soldiers  belonging  to  the  different 
battalions  were  frequently  granted  passes  by 
Lieut.  Col.  Iverson,  which  allowed  them  to 
come  into  the  prison  and  trade  for  gold  pens, 
rings,  pocketrbooks,  knives,  buttons,  or  any- 


336  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

thing  that  they  could  get,  giving  in  return 
sweet  potatoes  or  Confederate  money.  A 
" Johnnie"  came  in  one  day,  with  a  great 
desire  to  obtain  some  New  York  State  but 
tons,  which,  being  very  showy,  were  in  great 
demand  and  high  in  price.  It  was  quite  plain 
that  he  had  traded  for  them  before,  as  he  had 
a  full  row  upon  the  gray  coat  he  wore,  and 
also  four  of  them  on  the  back.  While  he 
was  bargaining  with  two  or  three  of  the  pris 
oners,  one  of  the  boys  stepped  softly  up 
behind,  and  with  a  sharp  knife  cut  off  the 
four  upon  the  tails  of  his  coat.  Then  pre 
senting  himself  in  front  of  the  "  reb,"  he  said, 
"  I  have  a  few  York  State  buttons  that  perhaps 
I'll  sell  you."  "Have  you?"  exclaimed  he, 
with  evident  joy  upon  his  countenance,  "Let 
me  look  at  them."  Taking  them  in  his  hand, 
and  carefully  examining  them,  he  remarked, 
"They  are  just  like  these  on  my  coat,"  so  pay 
ing  a  good  round  price  for  his  own  buttons, 
he  departed,  greatly  pleased  that  he  had  found 
some  "more  of  that  same  kind."  A  small 
group  of  "mudsills"  had  a  quiet  laugh  to 
themselves  when  he  was  out  of  sight. 


LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  337 

A  few   rods   from  the   north   side    of  the 
stockade,  was  a  large  camp  occupied  by 

SLAVES, 

several  hundred  in  number,  all  under  the  com 
mand  of  Lieut.  De  Loyle,  an  engineer  officer. 
This  man  had  the  sole  charge  of  laying  out 
the    fortifications,  and   the   slaves   performed . 
the  labor  upon  them. 

A  line  of  breast-works  had  encircled  the 
stockade  in  a  short  time,  with  a  small  place  at 
each  corner,  in  which  to  run  in  artillery. 
Beyond  this  was  still  another,  and  outer  line 
of  works,  with  a  deep  ditch.  The  slaves 
would  commence  their  work  early  in  the 
morning,  and  continue  until  sunset,  stopping 
only  a  short  time  for  dinner.  Their  overseers, 
or  drivers,  were  black  like  the  rest,  and  stood 
with  whip  in  hand  directing  and  hurrying  up 
the  work.  If  they  chanced  to  see  one  of  the 
men  slack  at^all,  they  would  sing  out,  flourish, 
ing  the  whip  at  the  same  time,  "Sharp  dere> 
6oy;  sharp  dere"  It  seemed  their  disposi 
tion  to  avoid  work  if  it  were  possible.  Sun- 
da}^  all  wrork  was  suspended  upon  the  fortifi 
cations,  and  they  sported  about  in  their  best 


338  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

clothes,  which  were  none  of  the  finest  at  that, 
however. 

Evidently,  they  were  a  happy,  kind-hearted 
race  by  nature,  but  they  were  kept  in  great 
ignorance,  which  accounts  for  some  of  their 
peculiarities. 

That  they  were  often  severely  whipped  in 
their  camp,  we  know,  as  the  sound  of  the  lash 
was  often  heard  at  the  dispensary.  The  reli 
gious  element  greatly  predominates  in  the 
colored  people  general^.  At  their  prayer 
meetings  they  work  themselves  up  into  great 
excitement.  One  of  our  boys  once  overheard 
one  of  them  pray,  as  follows  :  "  Come  down, 
0,  Lord,  and  f row  corn  in  de  winder,  and  sabe 
us,  poor  darkies,  from  starbin  dis  yer  winter" 

It  was  also  amusing  to  hear  them  sing  at 
their  work.  One  of  them,  apparently  a  leader 
among  his  brethren,  would  perform  the  solos, 
and  the  rest  would  come  in  on  the  chorus, 
keeping  time  all  the  while  as  they  pounded 
aw^ay  on  the  breast-works.  The  following  is  a 
specimen  of  the  richness  of  their  songs: 

"  Possum  up  a  gum  stump, 
Coonies  in  de  holler, 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  339 

Wake  snakes,  an  June  bugs, 
I'll  gib  you  half  a  dollar. ' 

CHORUS. 

Go  'long  squirrel,  hum  de  doodle  dura, 
Go  'long  squirrel,  hum  de  doodle  dum, 
Wid  yer  head  upon  yer  shoulders, 
And  yer  feet  upon  der  land, 
I  don't  know  de  reason  yer  don't  go  'locg.* 

One  verse  of  another  is  as  follows : 

"Aunt  Sister  Sal,  she  had  a  flea, 

She  hung  him  up  and  skinned  him, 
Carried  him  down  to  de  shootin'  match, 

And  Uncle  Ben,  he  win  him. 

CHORUS. 

And  Uncle  Ben,  he  win  him, 
And  Uncle  Bea,  he  win  him, 
Carried  him  down  to  de  shootin'  match, 
And  Uncle  Ben,  he  win  him. 

Our  own  condition,  in  prison  and  hospital, 
was  still  melancholy.  Death  was  still  busy 
among  us,  choosing  its  victims  as  it  saw  fit. 
Rev.  Mr.  Gardner,  of  the  135th  Ohio  regiment, 
died  in  the  early  part  of  November.  He  was 
one  to  conduct  the  religious  meetings  at 
Andersonville,  and  also  frequently  held  short 
services  over  some  of  the  poor  boys  who  died 
there.  His  illness  was  a  severe  and  protracted 
one,  and  we  mourned  for-  him,  for  he  was 
known  and  respected  by  all,  but  we  knew  that 


340  LIFE  IN  KEBEL  PRISONS. 

his  sufferings  were  over,  and  that  he  had 
gained  eternal  rest  and  peace.  The  Chaplain 
of  the  5th  Georgia  regiment  now  preached 
to  us  occasionally,  and  he  also  sent  a  great 
many  tracts  to  be  distributed  among  the 
patients  in  the  hospital.  They  were  printed 
by  a  Southern  society,  which  issued  religious 
publications,  and  were  quite  interesting.  It 
was  gratifying  to  us  to  see  some  of  our  ene 
mies  taking  so  much  interest  in  us,  as  this, 
but  in  things  relating  to  our  physical  need  we 
were  left  to  suffer. 

About  the  middle  of  the  month,  the  rations 
of  the  ward-masters,  and  other  hospital  attend 
ants,  were  greatly  reduced.  Before  this,  we 
had  received  plenty  of  flour,  beans,  corn  meal 
and  salt,  with  an  occasional  issue  of  fresh  beef, 
but  now  a  bakery  and  cook  house  were  con 
structed  outside,  and  we  received  what  we 
had,  already  cooked,  but  greatly  reduced  in 
quantity.  At  this  same  time,  our  comrades  in 
prison  were  only  getting  a  pint  of  coarse  corn 
meal,  with  the  smallest  modicum  of  salt  occa 
sionally.  We  were,  not  allowed  to  carry  any 
of  our  food  tp  them,  and  if  we  ever  did  it,  it 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  341 

was  bj  stealth,  in  order  that  it  might  not  be 
detected  by  the  inquisitive  gaze  of  Dr.  O'Brien, 
who  was  always  on  the  alert  to  discover  such 
things.  Sometimes  the  rations  of  the  whole 
camp  would  be  discontinued,  for  some  trifling 
excuse.  I  remember  one  occasion,  when  the 
prisoners  went  without  food  for  sixty  hours, 
and  this,  too,  when  the  regular  diet  was  simply 
a  pint  of  meal.  The  pretense  was,  that  two 
tunnels  had  been  dug  by  the  prisoners,  and 
everything  must  be  cleared  up  before  any 
food  could  be  given. 

The  overseer  of  the  prison  was  Lieut.  Bar 
rett,  of  the  5th  Georgia  regiment,  and  any 
one  who  was  ever  in  that  stockade,  will  always 
remember  him.  It  seemed  that  a  greater 
wretch  never  lived.  Capt.  Wirz  surpassed 
him  in  cruel  inventions  to  enhance  our  misery, 
but  he  did  not  equal  him  in  coarse  brutality. 
Like  Capt.  W.,  he  constantly  used  the  most 
profane  and  blasphemous  language,  and  de 
lighted  in  drawing  his  pistol  and  firing  it  over 
the  heads  of  the  crowd. 

The  24th  came  round — Thanksgiving  day  at 
home,  and  so  I  thought  it  there,  for,  although 


342  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

I  had  nothing  but  a  crust  of  bread  for  dinner, 
I  was  so  fortunate  as  to  receive  two  letters 
from  home,  giving  me  the  first  and  only  infor 
mation  I  had  of  my  friends  since  the  previous 
April.  I  learned  that  all  was  well  there,  but 
they  were  ignorant  of.  my  condition,  and 
knew  not  whether  I  was  really  alive  or  not. 
Two  days  after  this,  the  long  looked  fcr  time 
arrived; — the  time  when  we  were  to  be 
exchanged,  or  rather  paroled,  preparatory  to 
such  an  act.  The  news  of  such  proceedings 
came  to  us  only  an  hour  before  the  work 
began.  At  about  one,  P.  M.,  a  number  of  Con 
federate  officers,  accompanied  by  several  clerks, 
and  a  small  guard  of  soldiers,  carne  into  the 
hospital.  Two  tables  were  provided,  and 
upon  these  the  rolls  were  spread  out.  The 
masters  of  the  different  wards,  in  turn,  called 
off  the  names  of  the  patients  as  they  stood  on 
the  roll-book,  until  fifty  from  each  ward  had 
been  paroled;  making  three  hundred  and  fifty 
in  all.  One  well  man  wras  then  paroled,  to 
each  company  of  ten  sick  ones,  as  attendants. 
These  were  selected  by  the  rebel  Surgeons, 
from  the  hospital  nurses,  &Q.  It  was  in  this 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  343 

way  I  obtained  my  freedom.  No  man  was 
allowed  to  go,  who  could  not  walk  up  to 
the  table  and  sign  the  parole  papers,  and  for 
this  reason  scores  of  poor  fellows  were  left 
behind,  while  their  comrades  who  were 
stronger,  passed  out  before  them.  The  paper 
to  which  we  signed  our  names,  as  nearly  as  I 
can  recollect,  read  as  follows : 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  do  solemnly  pledge  our  sacred  word  of 
honor,  that  we  will  not  take  up  arms  again  in  any  garrison,  fortifica 
tion  or  field  work  of  the  United  States,  or  do  any  police  or  con 
stabulary  duty,  or  any  duty  usually  performed  by  soldiers,  until  we 
shall  have  been  duly  declared  exchanged." 

Having  done  this,  it  was  said  we  would 
leave  for  Savannah  on  Monday.  It  all  seemed 
like  a  pleasant  dream,  but  we  had  been 
deceived  so  many  times,  it  was  impossible  to 
remove  all  doubts  from  the  mind.  However, 
I  determined  to  act  as  if  it  were  a  reality,  and 
accordingly  I  went  over  to  the  prison  in  the 
evening,  and  told  the  boys  to  have  their  let 
ters  and  messages  ready  the  next  day,  if  they 
wished  me  to  carry  them  to  their  friends  at 
home. 

We  were  busy  all  day  Sunday  in  getting 
the  patients  in  readiness  to  leave.  A  special 


344  LIFE   IN  REBEL   PRISONS. 

requisition  for  soap  was  made  by  the  surgeon 
in  charge,  and  the  nurses  were  ordered  to  see 
that  the  men  who  were  to  leave  were  scrubbed 
clean  with  soap  and  water,  and,  if  possible,  to 
have  them  shaved  and  their  hair  trimmed. 
This  was  done  so  as  to  render  them  presenta 
ble  to  our  forces  at  time  of  delivery.  One  of 
the  men  in  my  ward,  who  was  paroled,  died  on 
Saturday  night.  Exchange  came  too  late  for 
him,  as  it  did  for  many  others. 

Shortly  before  sunset  on  Monday,  we  were 
marched  out  of  the  stockade,  and  encamped 
for  the  night  near  the  'cook-house ;  and  here, 
two  days'  rations  were  issued  to  us. 

That  night  we  had  a  jolly  time.  No  guard 
was  placed  over  us,  and  we  were  left  to  do 
just  as  we  pleased. 

While  we  were  there,  two  rebel  soldiers  paid 
us  a  visit.  One  of  them  kept  a  sharp  lookout 
lest  they  should  be  seen  or  heard  by  some  of 
their  officers,  and  the  other  carried  on  quite  a 
conversation  with  us.  "They  knew  we  were 
going  home,"  he  said,  "and  wished  us  to  go 
with  correct  impressions  of  the  true  state  of 
things  among  them."  "My  Father  always 


LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  345 

taught  mo  to  love  the  Stars  and  Stripes" 
he  continued,  "and  never  to  raise  a  hand 
against  them ;  but  I  am  here  in  the  Southern 
army  because  I  can  not  help  myself,  and  there 
are  hundreds  of  men  in  the  army  who  feel  as 
I  do,  but  it  will  not  do  for  us  to  let  our  opin 
ions  be  known.  We  are  living  under  a  com 
plete  military  despotism"  That  he  was  sin 
cere  and  truthful  m  his  expressions,  I  have  no 
doubt. 

We  were  aroused  at  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  marched  over  to  the  railroad 
track,  a  distance  of  half  a  mile,  where  the  roll 
of  the  entire  body  of  paroled  men  was  called, 
after  which  we  were  loaded  into  the  train, 
which  had  arrived  in  the  meantime.  Fifty- 
five  prisoners  and  two  guards  were*  placed  in 
each  car.  Dr.  Orme,  of  Milledgeville,  Ga., 
went  with  the  train,  and  he  did  his  duty  well. 
A  large  tub  was  put  in  each  car,  and  a  body  of 
men  detailed  to  keep  them  filled  with  good 
water. 

We  had  started  from  Florence  at  sunrise, 
and  arrived  at  Charleston  after  dark  in  the 
evening,  having  been  all  that  time  in  running 


346  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  three  miles. 
We  waited  a  long  time  at  one  station,  and 
upon  inquiring  into  the  cause  of  the  delay, 
we  were  told  by  the  engineer  that  he  had 
been  running  faster  than  schedule  time  al 
lowed,  and  therefore  he  must  wait  awhile. 

We  stayed  about  two  hours  in  the  last-men 
tioned  place,  and  then  left  on  another  train  for 
Savannah.  While  on  the  way,  we  passed  a 
train  loaded  with  Union  prisoners.  We  had 
an  opportunity  to  speak  with  them,  and 
learned  that  they  had  been  confined  at  Black- 
shire,  S.  C.,  and  were  on  their  way  to  Florence 
from  Savannah,  where  they  had  expected  to 
be  exchanged,  having  been  previously  paroled. 
We  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  this,  and 
began  to  doubt  quite  seriously  whether  we 
were,  even  now,  to  realize  our  hopes.  We 
made  very  slow  progress,  but  finally  reached 
the  city  of  our  destination,  where  we  found 
great  excitement  in  regard  to  Sherman's  ad 
vance,  his  army  being  only  forty-five  miles 
distant.  The  negroes  and  citizens  were  hard 
at  work,  throwing  up  light  earth-work  defen 
ses,  such  as  the  General's  veterans  would 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS,  347 

laugh  at.  What  we  could  see  of  the  city, 
gave  us  very  good  impressions.  The  streets 
were  wide  and  straight,  and  lined  with  beauti 
ful  trees,  known  as  the  "  Pride  of  India."  The 
houses  were  neat  and  handsome,  and  indicated 
taste  and  refinement  on  the  part  of  their  pos 
sessors.  Here  we  were  taken  from  the  cars, 
to  spend  the  night  on  the  corner  of  Liberty 
and  East  Broad  streets,  in  a  vacant  lot. 

Some  of  the  citizens  came  to  see  us.  I  had 
a  short  conversation  with  a  wealthy  cotton- 
factor,  in  which  he  said,  "I  have  not  handled 
a  gun  yet,  and  I  do  not  intend  to ;  and  as  for 
Gen.  Sherman,  I'm  not  at  all  alarmed  about 
his  coming,  for  I  have  nothing  to  fear  from 
him." 

The  next  morning  the  weather  was  clear 
and  pleasant,  and  we  marched  down  to  the 
dock  not  long  after  sunrise,  where  three 
steamers  were  in  waiting  for  us,  and  we  imme 
diately  went  on  board.  Here  the  old  women, 
who  made  it  a  point  to  avail  themselves  of 
every  opportunity  to  sell  something  to  the 
soldiers,  presented  their  baskets  filled  with 
pies,  cakes,  &c.,  and  the  boys,  full  of  glee  at 


348  LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

the  prospect  before  them,  were  ready  for  a 
little  fun,  and  therefore  made  corresponding 
offers,  such  as  $100  in  Confederate  money,  or 
three  cents  in  silver,  for  a  piece  of  pie, — a  dis 
tinction  in  the  value  of  currency  that  some  of 
the  Southern  bystanders  did  not  relish  partic 
ularly. 

The  names  of  the  respective  steamers  were 
the  "Beauregard,"  " General  Lee,"  and  "Jeff. 
Davis,"  The  first  carried  the  officers,  and  was 
also  the  flag-of-truce  boat.  The  two  latter 
carried  the  enlisted  men.  They  were  steered 
by  three  rudders. 

At  about  nine  o'clock  A.  M.  we  started  from 
the  dock,  the  "Beauregard"  carrying  the  flag 
of  truce  in  advance,  and  the  other  two  follow 
ing  at  a  respectable  distance  in  her  wake. 
Just  before  leaving,  Dr.  Orme  said  to  Hospital 
Steward  Reed  of  the  12th  N.  Y.  Eegiment, 
"You  can  tell  your  people  at  home  just  as 
bad  stories  as  you  please  about  the  manner  in 
which  you  have  been  treated, — anything  that 
will  hasten  an  exchange,  for  we  want  our  men 
badly.  But  don't  represent  that  we  are  nearly 
whipped,  for,  as  long  as  there  is  a  pine  tree 


LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  349 

left  for  us  to  sleep  under,  we  will  fight  you." 
The  Dr.  was  indulging  in  this  same  style  of 
bombast  one  day  in  the  hospital,  when  he  was 
reminded  by  one  of  the  ward-masters,  a  brave 
Ohio  boy,  that  "they  didn't  talk  in  that  style 
at  the  front."  Upon  that,  the  Dr.  thought 
best  to  subside. 

To  return  to  our  trip.  The  distance  from 
the  city  to  our  fleet  was  about  twelve  miles, 
and  we  reached  Venus  Point,  the  rendezvous, 
at  ten  o'clock.  On  our  way  down  the  river, 
we  were  passed  by  an  iron-clad  steamer  dash 
ing  up  toward  the  city  at  a  rapid  rate, — the 
same  "  Savannah,"  I  think,  which  was  blown 
up  by  the  rebels  on  the  surrender  of  the  city 
to  Gen.  Sherman.  Another  formidable  mon 
ster  of  iron  was  anchored  in  the  stream  near 
Fort  Jackson. 

The  river  just  below  the  fort  was  obstructed 
by  rafts  of  timber,  &c.,  leaving  but  a  narrow 
channel  to  pass  through.  Only  vessels  of  light 
draft  could  pass  at  all.  The  one  I  was  in 
struck  something  which  threw  it  up  a  foot  or 
two,  but  did  no  serious  damage  at  all.  Hav 
ing  passed  through  this,  we  soon  found  our- 


350  LIFE   IN   REBEL  PRISONS. 

selves  nearing  our  own  noble  fleet,  and  there 
was  our  Flag,  flying  from  the  rigging  of  a 
large  steamer.  It  was  impossible  for  us  to 
gaze  upon  that  precious  emblem  of  Freedom 
with  dry  eyes.  It  was  a  touching  sight  to  see 
the  upturned  faces,  the  eager  gaze  of  our  men. 
Never  before  was  that  flag  so  dear  to  our 
hearts.  How  insignificant  and  contemptible 
in  comparison  was  the  flaunting  Rebel  rag 
that  had  so  long  been  displayed  to  us. 

The  "Beauregard"  steamed  up  side  of  one 
of  the  vessels,  and  held  communication  with 
those  on  board,  while  we  lay  off  in  the  stream 
awaiting  the  result.  Capt.  Hatch,  the  Rebel 
Exchange  Agent,  finally  signalled  to  our 
steamer,  and  in  a  few  moments  we  were 
alongside  one  of  our  transports,  the  "Star  of 
the  South,"  ready  to  go  on  board. 

When  we  stepped  our  feet  upon  her  decks, 
we  breathed  easily,  and  not  before.  The  as 
sertions  of  the  rebel  officers  that  our  Govern 
ment  would  not  receive  men  whose  term  of 
service  was  out,  led  us  to  doubt  whether  we 
should  meet  with  any  reception  at  all,  or  be 
turned  back  to  linger  yet  longer  in  rebel  hells. 


LIFE  IN  REBEL   PRISONS.  351 

At  the  time  of  our  parole,  the  rebel  officers 
had  taken,  as  far  as  practicable,  those  men 
whose  time  had  expired,  evidently  intending 
to  cheat  the  Government  as  much  as  possible; 
and  one  of  the  examining  Surgeons  also  took 
out  some  of  the  men  for  bribes,  obtaining  in 
this  way  gold  rings,  greenbacks,  &c.  Two  of 
my  own  comrades  succeeded  in  making  their 
escape  in  this  way. 

Moored  on  the  river  with  the  steamer  al 
ready  named,  were  the  "New  York"  and  the 
"Crescent."  The  one  first  mentioned  was 
styled  the  "receiving  ship,"  and  we  went  on 
board  that  when  we  left  the  rebel  craft.  From 
there  we  went  to  the  second  one,  as  fast  as 
circumstances  would  allow,  that  being  desig 
nated  the  "clothing  ship." 

Here  we  were  called  upon  to  divest  our 
selves  of  our  wretched  garments  and  throw 
them  all  away,  and  we  saw  the  miserable  rags 
float  down  the  river  without  the  least  feeling 
of  regret, — and  our  old  companions,  the  lice, 
also.  We  washed  ourselves  in  water  dipped 
from  the  cold  stream,  and  though  it  caused 
some  shivering  sensations,  we  were  heartily 


852  LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

glad  of  an  opportunity  to  be  clean  once  more. 
As  fast  as  this  was  done,  we  were  marched  in 
a  row  to  the  counter,  where  each  man  was 
given  a  new  suit  of  Uncle  Sam's  blue,  and  a 
good  pair  of  shoes.  Being  thus  washed  and 
clothed,  and  "in  our  right  minds"  we  were 
allowed  to  go  on  board  the  "Crescent,"  which 
was  the  "  feeding  ship."  There  we  received 
our  first  meal  of  army  food,  and  what  a  feast 
it  was.  We  could  not  find  words  strong 
enough  to  express  our  admiration ; — and  that 
pint  of  hot  coffee;— li  was  fit  ambrosia  for 
the  gods  and  goddesses;  nectar — which  in 
spired  one  with  happiness  and  contentment. 

I  doubted  if  there  was  ever  a  happier 
crowd  than  we  were  that  night.  Some 
danced,  others  sang,  and  every  one  was  full 
of  jokes  and  good  humor  over  our  fine  for 
tune. 

"How  is  this,"  says  one,  "are  we  going  to 
another  stockade?"  "Not  muchly,  I  guess," 
responds  the  one  thus  interrogated. 

"How  are  you,  corn  meal?"  says  another, 
"that's  played,  isn't  it,  Tom?"  "If  I  know 
myself,  it  is,"  gaily  replies  Tom. 


LIFE   IN  REBEL   PRISONS.  353 

Still  another,  thinking  of  home,  says,  "I 
wonder  how  we'll  find  things  up  North,  and 
I'd  like  to  know  if  my  girl  has  gone  and  mar 
ried  another,  while  I've  been  down  in  our 
Georgia  peri."  He  had  been  a  prisoner  a  long 
time,  and  it  would  be  no  wonder  if  he  had 
long  ago  been  given  up  by  his  friends  as  one 
dead. 

One  group  might  be  heard  singing  "Just 
before  the  battle,  Mother,"  and  other  -patriotic 
airs,  and  still  another  company  were  engaged 
in  looking  at  the  rapid  steps  of  one  of  the 
boys,  who  was  dancing  a  jig,  and  in  this  way 
some  of  the  abundance  of  good  feeling  escaped. 
No  sooner  did  one  tire  than  another  took  his 
place,  but  there  were  many  who  were  too 
weak  to  indulge  in  any  such  active  demon 
strations  of  joy,  but  who  sat  with  a  quiet 
smile  upon  their  thin  faces,  drinking  in  all  the 
fun  that  was  going  on  about  them. 

In  the  exuberance  of  our  joy,  I  trust  we 
did  not  forget  to  thank  Him,  who  from  on 
high  had  watched  over  us  in  all  our  ways,  and 
had  finally  brought  us  deliverance. 

From  the  "Crescent"  we  went  on  board  the 


354  LIFE   IN   REBEL  PRISONS. 

transport  "Gen.  Lyon,"  and  when  we  finally 
weighed  anchor,  we  felt  that  we  were  leaving  the 
Confederacy  for  the  pleasanter  scenes  of  our 
northern  homes ;  getting  into  "God's  country''' 
once  more,  as  the  boys  called  it.  No  tears 
were  shed  as  the  land  of  the  traitor  faded 
away  in  the  distance,  but  only  congratula 
tions  were  heard,  and  hopes  expressed  that 
we  might  never  be  called  to  sojourn  there 


again. 


After  we  had  passed  Fort  Pulaski,  and  were 
well  out  upon  the  ocean,  there  came  up  a 
fresh  gale  of  wind,  and  the  sea  was  rough. 
It  was  not  long  before  many  were  seen  lean 
ing  over  the  side  of  the  ship,  evidently 
inclined  to  part  with  the  good  things  they 
had  so  warmly  praised  a  little  time  before. 
The  sailors  enjoyed  the  rough  condition  of 
affairs,  and  doubtless  looked  with  supreme 
contempt  upon  us  poor  landsmen,  who  were 
able  to  endure  so  little. 

As  we  were  proceeding,  our  steamer  stop 
ped  to  overhaul  a  small  schooner,  which  had 
run  the  blockade  with  about  eighty  bales  of 
cotton.  The  first  mate,  with  a  boat's  'crew, 


LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  355 

went  on  board  of  her,  but  after  taking  an 
inventory  of  her  cargo,  they  returned,  allow 
ing  her  to  pursue  her  course.  Why  it  was 
clone  we  did  not  know,  but  it  was  probably 
for  good  reasons,  or  at  least,  so  considered. 
But  Capt.  Ward  was  heard  to  say,  he  would 
send  somebody  after  them  who  would  take 
care  of  them.  The  next  day  was  beautiful, 
wdth  fine  sailing,  and  we  were  going  in  just 
the  right  direction  for  us.  Nearly  all  sail  was 
set,  and  under  the  combined  influence  of  wind 
and  steam,  we  sped  along  right  merrily — 
"Homeward  Bound."  We  saw  several  sails  in 
the  distance,  in  the  morning,  and  at  noon  one 
of  our  naval  vessels  sailed  near  us,  when  one 
of  their  officers  put  a  speaking  trumpet  to 
his  lips,  and  hailed  us  with  the  enquiry, "  Who 
are  you?"  "Transport,  Gen.  Lyon,"  replied 
our  Captain,  "  with  paroled  prisoners."  "Where 
are  you  from?"  continued  they.  "From  Sa 
vannah  river,"  we  told  him,  with  the  additional 
information  that  we  had  fallen  in  with  a  block 
ade  runner  the  day  before.  "Where?"  "Off 
Charleston."^  "All  right,  sir,"  said  they,  and 
off  they  went  in  pursuit  of  it.  We  continued 


356  LIFE  IN   KEBEL   PRISONS. 

our  course,  and  passed  Cape  Hatteras  at  about 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening.  The  sea  at 
this  point  was  very  rough,  and  our  steamer 
rolled  and  pitched  in  a  way  that  was  any 
thing  but  delightful,  but  were  we  not  near- 
ing  the  long  wished  for  port,  and  should  trifles 
vex  us  ? 

Just  before  reaching  Fortress  Monroe,  we 
passed  a  large  school  of  whales,  which  were 
spouting  and  blowing  in  all  directions.  They 
came  very  near  to  the  steamer ;  so  near  that 
we  could  plainly  see  their  backs  as  they 
sported  about  in  the  water.  "We  remained  an 
hour  or  two  at  this  place,  so  well  known  in 
the  history  of  the  war,  and  then  weighed 
anchor  again,  bound  for  Annapolis,  Md.  As 
we  arrived  at  this  latter  place,  or  neared  the 
dock,  we  were  greeted  with  "Hail  Columbia," 
from  the  Marine  Band,  and  its  cheering  strains 
never  fell  upon  the  ears  of  more  grateful  list 
eners,  for  we  felt  that  it  savored  strongly  of 
"Home"  We  were  soon  on  shore,  and  well 
cared  for,  and  now,  we  said,  "our  troubles  are 
all  over."  There  we  received  two  months' 
pay,  and  commutations  of  rations  for  the 


LIFE   IN   REBEL  PRISONS.  357 

time  we  had  been  in  prison,  at  the  rate  of 
twenty-five  cents  a  day,  and  this  was  followed 
by  the  happy  sequel  for  us, — a  thirty  days' 
furlough. 


Rations  issued  by  the  United  States   Government  to  Rebel  Pris 
oners  of  War. — (Note  the  difference.) 
Hard  Bread,  14  oz.  per  one   ration,  or   18  oz.   Soft 

Bread,  one  ration. 

Corn  Meal,  18  oz.  per  one  ration. 

Beef,  14   " 

Bacon  or  Pork,  10   " 

Beans,  6  qts.  per  100  men. 

Hominy  or  Rice,  8  Ibs.       " 

Sugar,  14    «         » 

R.  Coffee,  5   "     ground,  or   7  Ibs.  raw,  per   100 

or  men. 

Tea  18  oz.  per  100  men. 

Soap,  4   «         " 

Adamantine  Candles,  5  candles  per  100  men. 

Tallow  Candles,  6      " 

Salt,  2  qts. 

Molasses,  1  qt. 

Potatoes,  SO  Ibs. 

Statement  of  Clothing  issued  to  Prisoners  of  War,  at  Fort  Dela 
ware,  from  Sept.  1st,  1863,  to  May  1st,  1864. 

7,175  Pairs  Drawers,  (Canton  Flannel.) 

6,260  Shirts,  (Flannel.) 

8,807  Pairs  Woolen  Stockings. 

1,094  Jackets  and  Coats. 

3,480  Pairs  Bootees. 

1,310  Pairs  Trowsers. 

4,378  Woolen  Blankets. 

2,680  Great  Coats. 
Average  number  of  prisoners,  4,489. 


CHAPTEE    X. 


LIBBY. 

FROM  the  corner  of  a  dingy  brick  building 
in  one  of  the  streets  of  Kichmond,  Va.,  may 
be  seen  a  small  sign,  which  tells  to  the  passer 
by,  that  "Libby  &  Son,  ship  chandlers  and 
grocers,"  have  invited  their  patrons  to  this 
point,  as  the  one  where  their  business  was 
conducted,  and  where  those  must  repair  who 
were  interested  in  bargains  particularly  asso 
ciated  with  their  vocation.  It  was  not  of 
sufficient  importance,  in  time  of  peace,  to 
obtain  a  very  wide  celebrity,  neither  were  the 
owners  thereof  so  distinguished  as  to  be  of 
great  notoriety,  but  as  the  inauguration  of 
war  has  inducted  many  into  office  who  were 
hitherto  obscure  and  unknown,  so  the  contin 
gencies  of  our  civil  strife,  has  opened  this 
place  to  the  public  gaze,  and  made  it  famous, 
or  rather  infamous,  before  the  world,  beside 
conferring  a  lustreless  fame  upon  the  propri 
etors.  ,  The  very  name  of  Libby  has  become 

*».  .   -  .**fe-        <*«*     — *•       ,,**«*•       ^TJ 

synonomous  with  that  of  1  terror  *;"_  it   carries 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  359 

tyranny  and  oppression  in  its  simple  sound. 
The  soldier  who  is  taken  prisoner  in  Virginia 
vales,  is  at  once  haunted  with  visions  of  this 
darksome  den,  and  shrinks  from  entering  a 
place  so  full  of  bitter  experiences  as  that  is 
known  to  be. 

Fierce  hate  and  revenge  reign  supreme 
there,  and  consequently  there  is  wrought  out 
a  system  of  discipline  which  produces  a  condi 
tion,  such  as  we  might  expect  when  the  dis 
cordant  elements  of  being  rage  unchecked, 
and  we  are  not  surprised  to  find  the  culmina 
tion  reached  in  almost  fiendish  expression. 
Thousands  who  have  been  in  Libby  prison, 
will  rehearse  the  story  of  their  misery,  want 
and  woe,  to  others;  these  will  pass  them 
along  to  other  listeners  still,  so  that  the  echo 
will  scarcely  die  out  at  the  remotest  period  of 
the  present  generation.  Households,  in  com 
ing  time,  will  gather  about  the  fireside,  and 
talk  of  their  friends  and  ancestors  who  ended 
their  days  in  so  much  wretchedness,  because 
of  their  attachment  to  the  Union,  and  in  pro 
portion  as  their  bravery  and  heroism,  their 
courage  and  constancy  is  admired,  will  the 


360  LIFE   IN   EEBEL   PRISONS. 

malice  and  fury  of  their  persecutors  be  con 
demned. 

It  may  be>  and  probably  is,  one  of  the  es 
sentials  of  war,  that  places  be  provided  for  the 
confinement  of  prisoners,  but  they  do  not 
necessarily  include  every  species  of  torment 
which  the  human  mind  is  capable  of  conceiv 
ing.  They  should  not  naturally  presuppose 
the  absence  of  all  humanity,  and  the  annihi 
lation  of  every  condition  of  comfortable  ex 
istence,  as  they  have  seemed  to,  in  almost 
every  part  of  the  South  where  the  Confeder 
ate  authorities  have  opened  them. 

Says  one  of  the  16th  Conn.  Regiment,  who 
was  in  Libby  for  a  season,  "  Their  treatment  of 
prisoners  was  very  abusive,  kicking  them,  and 
never  speaking  of  one  only  in  the  most  oppro 
brious  terms. 

The  nights  were  very  cold,  and  there  being 
nothing  but  gratings  in  the  windows,  the  men 
were  obliged  to  walk  the  whole  night  lting?  to 
keep  from  freezing,  and  if  they  could  meet  the 
friendly  embrace  of  slumber  at  all,  it  was 
during  the  day,  when  the  sun  would  shed  its 
kindly  beams  upon  them,  and  so  imparting 


LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS.  363 

sufficient  warmth  to  their  bodies  to  keep  them 
rom  shivering." 

We  have  an  idea,  of  their  utter  destitution 
when  we  listen  to  the  statement  he  makes  re 
specting  the  manner  of  their  obtaining  the 
food  which  they  must  have  in  some  way,  or 
perish. 

"I  have  seen  men/'  he  says,  "draw  their 
bean-soup  in  their  shoes,  for  tho  want  of  a 
cup,  plate,  or  anything  of  the  kind  to  put  it 
in."  And  what  seemed  worse  than  all  the 
rest,  was  the  almost  Satanic  rule,  that  if  a 
man  was  caught  resting  his  eye  upon  the  glad 
scenes  of  nature  through  a  window,  he  must 
bo  quickly  translated  from  earth  by  the  ball 
of  a  musket.  The  whole  thing  is  arbitrary  in 
the  extreme,  but  we  could  expect  little  else 
under  the  v?ry  shadow  of  the  Confederate 
Capital,  where  the  original  framers  of  seces 
sion  go  in  and  out;  seeking  to  form  a  dynasty, 
though  it  be  founded  in  the  tears  and  blood, 
the  cries  and  groans  of  their  fellow-men.  Of 
the  numbers  who  have  been  admitted  within 
tho  walls  of  the  Libby  building,  we  can 
scarcely  speak,  for  multitudes,  have  been,  con- 


364  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

veyed  thither  temporarily,  to  remain  only  until 
such  time  as  they  could  be  transported  to  other 
places.  Very  many  thousand  have  found  a 
transient  home  here,  and  their  united  testi 
mony  is  the  same. 

One  who  visited  the  place  for  the  purpose 
of  ascertaining  the  truth  for  himself,  has  given 
the  result  of  his  visit  in  one  of  the  leading 
journals  of  the  day,  and  we  give  the  descrip 
tion  of  it  in  his  own  words,  as  affording  the 
best  outline  we  have  been  able  to  get. 

"It  was  three  stories  high,  and,  I  was  told, 
eighty  feet  in  width,  and  a  hundred  and  ten 
feet  in  depth.  In  front,  the  first  story  was  on 
a  level  with  the  street,  allowing  space  for  a 
tier  of  dungeons  under  the  sidewalk ;  but  in 
the  rear,  the  land  sloped  away  till  the  base 
ment  floor  rose  above  ground.  Its  unpainted 
walls  were  scorched  to  a  rusty  brown,  and  its 
sunken  doors  and  low  windows,  filled  here  and 
there  with  a  dusky  pane,  were  cobwebbed  and 
weather-stained,  giving  the  whole  building  a 
most  uninviting  and  desolate  appearance." 

Upon  passing  inside,  he  says,  "We  entered 
a  room  about  forty  feet  wide  and  a  hundred 


LIFE   IN   REEEL    PRISONS.  305 

feet  deep,  with  bare  brick  walls,  a  rough  plank 
floor,  and  narrow,  dingy  windows,  to  whose 
sash  only  a  few  broken  panes  were  clinging. 
A  row  of  tin  wrash-basins,  and  a  wrooden  trough 
which  served  as  a  bathing-tub,  wrere  at  one 
end  of  it,  and  half  a  dozen  cheap  stools  and 
hard-bottomed  chairs  were  littered  about  the, 
floor,  but  it  had  no  other  furniture.  And  this 
room,  with  five  others  of  similar  size  and  ap 
pointments,  and  two  basements  floored  with 
earth  and  filled  with  debris,  compose  the  fa 
mous  Libby  Prison,  in  which,  for  months  to 
gether,  thousands  of  the  best  and  bravest  men 
that  ever  wrent  to  battle  have  been  allowed  to 
rot  and  to  starve. 

"At  the  date  of  our  visit,"  he  continues, 
"not  more  than  a  hundred  prisoners  were  in 
the  Libby,  its  contents  having  been  recently 
emptied  into  a  worse  sink  in  Georgia ;  but 
almost  constantly  since  the  war  began,  twelve 
and  sometimes  thirteen  hundred  of  our  officers 
have  been  hived  within  those  half-dozen  deso 
late  rooms  and  filthy  cellars,  with  a  space  of 
only  ten  feet  by  two  alloted  to  each  for  all  the 
purposes  of  living. 


366  LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS, 

Overrun  with  vermin,  perishing  with  cold, 
breathing  a  stifled,  tainted  atmosphere,  110 
space  allowed  them  for  rest  by  day,  and  lying 
down  at  night  '  wormed  and  dove-tailed  to 
gether  like  fish  in  a  basket,'— their  daily  ra 
tions  only  two  ounces  of  stale  beef  and  a 
small  lump  of  hard  corn-bread,  and  their  lives 
the  forfeit  if  they  caught  but  one  streak  of 
God's  blue  sky  through  those  filthy  windows, 
— they  have  endured  there  all  the  horrors  of 
the  middle  passage.  My  soul  sickened  as  I 
looked  upon  the  scene  of  their  wretchedness. 
If  the  liberty  we  are  fighting  for  were  not 
worth  even  so  terrible  a  price, — if  it  were  not 
cheaply  purchased  even  with  the  blood  and 
agony  of  the  many  brave  arid  true  souls  who 
have  gone  into  that  foul  den  only  to  die,  or  to 
come  out  the  shadows  of  men, — living  ghosts, 
condemned  to  walk  the  night,  and  to  fade 
away  before  the  breaking  of  the  great  day 
that  is  coming, — who  would  not  cry  out  for 
peace,  for  peace  on  any  terms?" 

We  need  no  other  proof  of  the  true  noble 
ness  of  soul  in  the  young  men  of  our  country, 
than  the  voices  which  come  ever  and  anon 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  367 

from  these  forbidding  prison-places,  telling  us 
of  a  quenchless  love  for  the  cause  of  right ;  of 
a  devotion  and  fervor  that  knows  no  abate 
ment  ;  and  a  willingness  to  do  and  to  dare,  to 
suffer  and  to  die,  that  the  tyrant  of  oppres 
sion  may  be  crushed,  and  the  glad  hosannas  of 
Freedom  ring  through  the  land,  and  reverber 
ate  among  the  hills ;  that  we  may  have,  not  a 
"circle  within  a  circle,"  but  one  that  is  contin 
uous,  unbroken,  clasping  in  its  mighty  embrace 
a  free,  happy,  and  united  people. 


CASTLE   THUNDER. 

WHO  that  is  conversant  with  English  history, 
does  not  know  of  the  Tower  of  London,  and 
the  gloomy  associations  of  that  place  ?  The 
mind  is  thronged  with  dark  and  mournful 
memories,  at  mention  of  its  name ;  and  so  in 
coming  time  will  Castle  Thunder  appear  to 
the  mind  and  memory  of  the  American.  That 
place,  where  all  manner  of  cruelty  has  been 
practiced,  will  not  be  forgotten.  Even  in  the 


368  LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS. 

immediate  locality,  and  among  the  rebels  them 
selves,  it  has  a  most  unfavorable  reputation, 
life  there  being  considered  well  nigh  the  cul 
mination  of  earthy  misery.  But  the  length 
of  time  that  prisoners  were  confined  there, 
with  some  other  circumstances,  render  it  a 
place  of  less  note  than  many  other  places, 
and  less  is  said  about  it.  Rebel  convicts, 
Northern  deserters  and  citizens,  Southern 
Union  men  and  negroes,  are  confined  there, 
and  there  is  a  vast  deal  of  suffering  and  a 
great  amount  of  inhumanity  experienced  and 
practiced. 

Southerners  generally  make  a  broad  distinc 
tion  between  the  common  class  of  people  and 
those  they  consider  gentlemen,  such  as  occupy 
a  place  in  the  aristocratic  ranks  of  society ; 
and  this  disposition  was  manifest  in  their 
treatment  of  men  at  the  place  of  which  we 
are  speaking.  Persons  of  the  worst  character 
were  congregated  there,  but  these  men  were 
usually  singled  out,  and  elevated  to  a  different 
sphere,  where  they  received  something  of  the 
consideration  their  superior  dignity  entitled 
them  to ;  where  less  tyranny  was  shown,  and 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  369 

more  privileges  accorded  than  to  the  general 
ity  of  the  prisoners. 

The  "gratuitous  indignities"  which  have 
been  heaped  so  unmercifully  upon  the  soldiers 
in  some  prisons,  were  not  showered  upon 
them  there.  But  woe  wras  upon  many  of  the 
unhappy  prisoners.  The  very  name  is  sug 
gestive  of  inflexible  rule ;  of  stern  authority 
and  inexorable  law,  which  might  not  be  tram 
pled  upon  without  the  bolts  of  Justice  falling 
upon  the  head  of  the  offender. 


BELLE    ISLE. 

HOWARD  LEEDOM,  of  Co.  G,  52d  N.  T.  Eegi- 
ment,  was  taken  prisoner  at  Orange  Grove, 
near  Chancellorsville,  in  November,  1863,  and 
was  carried  immediately  to  Richmond,  and 
from  thence  to  Belle  Isle,  and  through  him 
we  obtain  a  glimpse  of  the  fearful  tragedies 
acted  there. 

"The  space  occupied  by  prisoners  is  about 
six  acres,  enclosed  by  an  earthwork  three  feet 


370  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

in  height ;  within  this  space  were  confined  as 
many  as  ten  thousand  prisoners.  The  part 
occupied  by  them  is  a  low,  sandy,  barren 
waste,  exposed  in  summer  to  a  burning  sun, 
without  the  shadow  of  a  single  tree;  and  in  the 
winter,  to  the  damp  and  cold  winds  up  the 
river,  with  a  few  miserable  tents  in  which, 
perhaps,  one  half  the  number  were  protected 
from  the  night  fogs  of  a  malarious  region  ; 
the  others  lay  upon  the  ground  in  the  open 


air." 


The  officers  of  nearly  all  the  Southern 
prisons  seem  to  have  imbibed  the  spirit  of  the 
prime  leaders  of  the  rebellion,  and  therefore 
show  out  the  same  ruling  purpose  in  their 
treatment  of  prisoners,  which  appears  to  be 
nothing  else  than  present  misery  and  ultimate 
unfitness  on  a  broad  scale,  in  the  case  of  those 
with  whom  they  have  to  deal. 

The  history  of  the  subject  of  this  sketcn  is 
similar  to  that  of  thousands  of  others  who 
have  dwelt  upon  this  lonely  island  in  James 
river.  He  was  conveyed  thither  as  the  coldest 
and  most  inclement  season  of  the  year  was 
approaching,  and  instead  of  being  allowed  to 


LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  371 

retain  what  little  he  had  that  was  conducive 
to  comfort,  even  this  was  taken  from  him,  and 
he  was  left  in  utter  destitution.  His  captors 
took  from  him  his  blanket,  and  even  the 
gloves  on  his  hands  and  the  shoes  on  his  feet, 
substituting  for  the  latter,  however,  a  misera 
ble  pair,  so  filled  with  rents  as  to  be  scarcely 
an  apology  for  a  covering,  affording  almost  no 
protection  from  the  cold  and  frost,  as  will  be 
seen,  when  we  are  told  that  his  feet  became 
badly  frozen,  and  all  the  toes  of  one  foot  were 
lost  in  consequence.  His  fortune  differed  from 
that  of  some  of  his  comrades,  in  that  he  had 
something  in  the  shape  of  a  tent  to  lie  under, 
although  it  was  nothing  that  would  exclude 
the  rain,  or  keep  the  sleet  from  falling  thick 
about  him.  Many  of  them  had  to  lie  in 
the  open  ditch,  without  anything  to  impart 
warmth  to  their  shivering  bodies ;  the  only 
shadow  of  protection  being  a  simple  embank 
ment,  which  was  thrown  up  about  them,  evi 
dently  designed  as  their  circling  boundary. 

It  is  not  strange,  under  these  circumstances, 
that  life  should  become  congealed  at  its 
source,  and  thaj;  it  ghould  be  written  of  many, 


372  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

that  they  were  '-frozen  to  death."  It  is  a  mel 
ancholy  verdict  to  render,  but  it  is  confirmed 
by  more  than  two  or  three  witnesses,  and  we 
may  therefore  judge  it  to  be  established  in 
truth.  The  heart  is  sad,  as  imagination  shows 
those  defenceless  soldiers,  not  only  bereft  of 
their  arms,  which  were  so  much  their  pride  to 
bear,  and  their  glory  to  wield,  but  also 
deprived  of  every  personal  comfort  and  con 
venience,  and  condemned  to  lie  down  exposed 
to  the  frowning  elements  of  nature,  and  the 
still  more  pitiless  abuse  of  humankind. 

It  were  scarcely  possible  to  conceive  of 
more  persistent,  wholesale  misery,  deliberately 
heaped  upon  men,  than  the  agents  of  South 
ern  malice  have  poured  upon  their  Northern 
kindred.  The  racks  and  the  tortures  of  the 
Inquisition  were  terrible,  and  we  shrink  back 
with  horror  as  we  peruse  the  history  of  this 
period,  but  did  they  rival  in  enduring  anguish, 
the  lingering  agonies  of  these  imprisoned 
ones,  who  are  consumed  by  the  slow  but  cer 
tain  pressure  of  the  foul  hand  that  is  upon 
them  ?  The  flames,  as  they  rise  from  the  fast 
kindling  fagots,  and  curl  about  the  form  of 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  373 

the  martyr,  as  he  is  tied  to  the  stake,  have  a 
power  to  stir  our  souls  within  us  to  their 
utmost  depths,  but  who  will  say  they  are  more 
dreadful  than  the  slow  burnings  which  eat  out 
the  vitals,  leaving  the  tenement  of  clay  a 
mere  wreck  before  the  spirit  quits  its  frail 
abode  ? — or  more  to  be  feared  than  the  tight 
ening  of  the  frosty  bands  which  prevent  the 
play  of  life,  as  surely  as  the  anaconda's  grasp, 
or  the  tiger's  embrace  ? 

There  are  some  of  these  things  to  be  taken 
as  the  natural  consequences  of  war,  and  some 
that  are  not.  "We  know  that  the  "chances 
and  fortunes"  of  war  are  varied  ;  that  priva 
tions,  exposures  and  suffering,  are  the  inevita 
ble  lot  of  those  who  engage  in  the  service ; 
but  we  seldom  hear  our  willing  soldiers  com 
plain  of  these.  It  is  the  inhuman,  inexcusa 
ble  treatment  they  receive  as  prisoners. 

They  bear  their  misfortunes  "bravely  and 
patriotically/7  complaining  not  of  their  gov 
ernment,  or  of  their  fate,  only  blaming  the 
conduct  of  their  merciless  enemies,  and  can 
we  wonder  at  this  ? 

The  object  of  their  hate  in  the  case  of  the 


374  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

one  of  whom  we  have  been  speaking,  suffered 
severely,  merely  escaping  starvation  and 
death,  A  little  time  on  the  Island  sufficed  to 
make  him  a  proper  subject  for  the  hospital, 
into  which  he  was  taken  to  become  the  victim 
of  pneumonia.  There,  as  well  as  in  prison,  he 
knew  what  it  was  to  experience  hunger,  with 
out  anything  to  gratify  the  insatiable  demand 
of  the  system.  Not  even  corn  bread  was 
given  him  in  sufficient  quantity  to  appease 
the  gnawing  within,  meat  was  a  luxury 
granted  only  at  intervals,  sometimes  once  a 
day  oftener  but  once  during  the  week. 

His  frozen  feet  received  daily  attention  at 
certain  seasons,  while  again,  for  days  together, 
they  went  with  nothing  done  to  soothe  the 
intensity  of  pain  occasioned  by  the  neglect. 
He  survived  to  tell  the  story  of  wrong  and 
sorrow,  but  multitudes  found  their  graves  on 
the  island  of  the  James.  In  history  it  will  be 
placed  side  by  side  with  other  places  of  rebel 
notoriety,  and  it  will  excite  the  same  emo 
tions  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  shall  read 
the  records.  Associations  will  ever  linger 
around  Belle  Isle,  of  no  pleasing  character.  It 


LIFE   IN   EEBEL   PRISONS.  375 

matters  little  how  fair  or  how  uninteresting 
it  may  be  by  nature,  the  name  will  start  a 
train  of  melancholy  reflections  whenever  it 
is  alluded  to.  War  has  introduced  it  to  the 
public  gaze,  but  only  as  a  place  where  "sharp- 
toothed  unkindness"  has  played  upon  man 
kind  to  the  death. 


SALISBURY   PENITENTIARY. 

The  Salisbury  Penitentiary,  in  North  Caro 
lina,  was  originally  designed  as  a  place  of  pun 
ishment  for  Southern  soldiers,  guilty  of  milita 
ry  offenses,  and  as  a  place  of  committal  for 
hostages,  and  all  those  captives  the  rebels 
desired  to  lose  in  forge tfulness.  Later  in  the 
history  of  the  war,  it  came  into  more  gen 
eral  use,  and  thousands  of  prisoners  found  a 
home  there,  not  unlike,  in  feature  and  charac 
ter,  to  many  others  furnished  by  the  Confed 
erate  authorities,  in  their  so-called  Southern 
empire.  When  a  household  was  first  gath 
ered  there,  the  administration  of  affairs  by 
those  placed  over  it,  was  comparatively  mild. 


376  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

The  members  thereof  were  allowed  the  privi 
lege  of  exercising  in  an  open  enclosure,  two 
hours  each  day,  thereby  reaping  the  benefit 
of  the  exhilarating  influences  of  nature,  and 
many  other  things  conspired  to  render  con 
finement  tolerable  and  imprisonment  endura 
ble.  In  process  of  time,  however,  there  came 
a  most  unwelcome  change.  The  inmates  were 
compelled  to  submit  to  a  state  of  things  that 
was  highly  revolting.  Apparently,  the  rebels 
were  sorry  they  had  allowed  even  a  shadow 
of  comfort  to  rest  upon  the  poor  men,  and 
therefore  went  systematically  to  work  to 
lessen  it. 

That  we  may  better  obtain  an  insight  into 
this  prison  den  of  the  South,  we  transcribe 
the  testimony  of  Mr.  Richardson  and  Brown, 
both  widely  known  as  being  prominently  asso 
ciated  with  the  public  press.  They  were  con 
fined  in  this  place,  each  of  them,  for  a  consid 
erable  length  of  time,  and  the  following  state 
ment  was  made  by  the  former  before  the  com 
mittee  of  the  conduct  of  the  war : 

"I  was  captured,"  he  says, "on  a  hay  bale  in 
the  Mississippi  river,  opposite  Vicksburg,  on 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  377 

the  3d  of  May,  1863,  at  midnight.1'  After 
experiencing  a  season  of  confinement  in  six 
different  prisons,  and  thus  enlarging  the  circle 
of  his  knowledge  in  regard  to  the  peculiar 
discipline  of  Southern  officials,  he  was  finally 
sent  to  Salisbury,  on  the  3d  of  February, 
1864>  where  he  remained  until  the  18th  of 
December,  of  the  same  year,  when  he  made 
his  escape,  thus  gratefully  terminating  his 
unhappy  and  unwilling  connection  with  a 
people  who  had  no  sympathy  with  his  views, 
and  no  feelings  in  unison  with  his  own. 

"For  months,"  he  says,  "Salisbury  was  the 
most  endurable  prison  I  had  seen ;  there  were 
600  inmates.  They  were  exercised  in  the 
open  air,  comparatively  well  fed,  and  kindly 
treated.  Early  in  October,  10,000  regular 
prisoners  of  war  arrived.  It  immediately 
changed  into  a  scene  of  cruelty  and  horror;  it 
was  densely  crowded,  rations  were  cut  down 
and  issued  very  irregularly ;  friends  outside 
could  not  even  send  in  a  plate  of  food. 

The  prisoners  suffered  considerably,  and 
often  intensely,  for  the  want  of  bread  and 
shelter ;  those  who  had  to  live  or  die  on 
16 


878  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

'.  f*>  «* 

prison  rations  always  suffered  from  hunger; 
very  frequently  one  or  more  divisions  of  1000 
men  would  receive  no  rations  for  twenty-four 
hours ;  sometimes  they  were  without  a  morsel 
of  food  for  forty-eight  hours. 

A  few  who  had  money  would  pay  from  five 
to  twenty  dollars  in  Rebel  currency  for  a  little 
loaf  of  bread.  Many,  though  the  weather  was 
very  inclement  and  snow  frequent,  sold  the 
coats  from  their  backs  and  shoes  from  their 
feet.  I  was  assured,  on  authority  entirely 
trustworthy,  that  a  great  commissary  ware 
house  near  the  prison  was  filled  with  provis 
ions.  The  Commissary  found  it  difficult  to 
find  storage  for  his  corn  and  meal ;  and  when 
a  subordinate  asked  the  post  commandant, 
Maj.  John  H.  Gee,  "  Shall  I  give  the  prisoners 
Mirations?"  he  replied,  with  an  oath,  "No! 
give  them  quarter-rations." 

"I  know  from  personal  observation,"  he  con 
tinues,  "that  corn  and  pork  are  very  abundant 
in  the  region  about  Salisbury." 

For  weeks  the  prisoners  had  no  shelter 
whatever;  they  were  all  thinly  clad,  thousands 
were  barefooted,  not  one  in  twenty  had  an 


FV 

LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  379 

overcoat  or  blanket,  many  hundreds  were  with 
out  shirts,  and  hundreds  were  without  blouses. 
One  Sibley  tent  and  one  "A"  tent  were  fur 
nished  to  each  squad  of  100  ;  with  the  closest 
crowding,  these  sheltered  about  half  the  pris 
oners.  The  rest  burrowed  in  the  ground, 
crept  under  the  buildings,  or  shivered  through 
the  night  in  the  open  air  upon  the  frozen 
ground.  If  the  rebels,  at  the  time  of  our 
capture,  had  not  stolen  our  shelter-tents,  blan 
kets,  clothing,  and  money,  they  would  have 
suffered  little  from  cold.  If  the  prison  author 
ities  had  permitted  them,  either  on  parole  or 
under  guard,  to  cut  logs  within  two  miles  of 
the  prison,  the  men  would  gladly  have  built 
comfortable  and  ample  barracks  in  one  week ; 
but  the  commandant  would  not  consent, — he 
did  not  even  furnish  one-half  the  fuel  needed. 
The  hospitals  were  in  a  horrible  condition. 
More  than  half  who  entered  them  died  in 
a  few  days.  The  deceased,  always  without 
coffins,  were  loaded  into  the  dead-carts,  piled 
on  each  other  like  logs  of  wood,  and  so  driven 
out  to  be  thrown  in  a  trench  and  covered  with 
earth.  The  rebel  surgeons  were  generally 


380  LIFE    IN    REBEL   PRISONS. 

humane  and  attentive,  and  endeavored  to  im 
prove  the  shocking  condition  of  the  hospitals; 
but  the  Salisbury  and  Eichmond  authorities 
disregarded  their  protests. 

On  the  25th  of  November,  many  of  the 
prisoners  had  been  without  food  for  forty-eight 
hours,  and  were  desperate,  without  any  ma 
tured  plan.  A  few  of  them  said,  "We  may  as] 
well  die  in  one  way  as  another ;  let  us  break 
out  of  this  horrible  place."  Some  of  them 
wrested  the  guns  from  a  relief  of  fifteen  rebel 
soldiers,  just  entering  the  yard,  killing  two 
who  resisted,  and  wounding  five  or  six  others, 
and  attempted  to  open  the  fence,  but  they  had 
neither  adequate  tools  or  concert  of  action. 
Before  they  could  effect  a  breach,  every  gun 
of  the  garrison  was  turned  on  them,  the  field- 
pieces  opened  with  grape  and  canister,  and  I 
they  dispersed  to  their  quarters.  In  five 
minutes  from  its  beginning,  the  attempt  was 
quelled,  and  hardly  a  prisoner  was  to  be  seen 
in  the  yard.  The  Rebels  killed  sixteen  in  all, 
and  wounded  sixty.  Not  one-tenth  of  the 
prisoners  had  taken  part  in  the  attempt,  and 
many  of  them  were  ignorant  of  it  until  they 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  381 

heard  the  guns.  Deliberate,  cold-blooded  mur 
ders  of  peaceable  men,  where  there  was  no 
pretense  that  they  were  breaking  any  prison 
regulation,  were  very  frequent. 

Our  lives  were  never  safe  for  one  moment. 
Any  sentinel,  at  any  hour  of  the  day  or  night, 
could  deliberately  shoot  down  any  prisoner,  or 
fire  into  a  group  of  them,  black  or  white,  and 
never  be  taken  off  his  post  for  it. 

I  left  about  6,500  remaining  in  garrison  on 
the  day  of  my  escape,  and  they  were  then 
dying  at  the  average  rate  of  twenty-eight  per 
day,  or  thirteen  per  cent,  a  month.  The  sim 
ple  truth  is,  that  the  Kebel  authorities  are 
murdering  our  soldiers  at  Salisbury  by  cold 
and  hunger,  while  they  might  easily  supply 
them  with  ample  food  and  fuel.  They  are 
doing  this  systematically,  and  I  'believe  are 
killing  them  intentionally,  for  the  purpose  ei 
ther  of  forcing  our  Government  to  an  exchange, 
or  forcing  our  men  into  their  own  army." 

In  harmony  with  the  above  is  the  testimony 
of  Mr.  Brown,  also  a  correspondent  of  the 
Tribune. 

«I  b,ave  often  wished,"  says  this  gentleman, 


382  LIFE  IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

"that  I  could  obtain  a  photograph  of  that 
room  in  Salisbury  prison,  for  I  can  give  no 
idea  of  its  repulsiveness  and  superlative 
squalor. 

The  prison  was  formerly  a  cotton-factory, 
about  ninety  by  thirty  feet,  and  when  we 
were  there,  they  had  only  six  or  seven  hund 
red  confined  within  its  walls.  A  dirtier,  smo 
kier,  drearier  and  more  unwholesome  place,  I 
had  never  seen,  than  the  room  in  which  we 
were  placed.  It  reminded  me  of  some  old 
junk-shop  in  South  street  of  the  city  I  had 
left,  and  was  hung  round  with  filthy  rags,  tat 
tered  quilts  and  blankets,  reeking  with  ver 
min,  which  the  wretched  inmates  used  as 
clothes  and  bed-covering,  and  thronged  mostly 
with  Northern  and  Southern  citizens,  most  of 
whom  were  in  garments  long  worn  out,  and 
as  far  removed  from  cleanliness  as  the  wearers 
from  happiness. 

In  that  abhorred  abode  we  were  compelled 
to  eat  and  sleep  as  best  we  might.  There 
were  but  two  stoves,  both  old  and  broken,  in 
the  room,  and  they  gave  out  no  heat,  but  any 
quantity  of  smoke,  which  filled  the  apartment 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  383 

with  bitter  blueness.  Yermin  swarmed  every 
where;  they  tortured  us  while  we  tried  to 
sleep  on  our  coarse  blankets,  and  kept  us  in 
torment  when  awake.  No  light  of  any  kind 
was  furnished  us;  and  there  we  sat  night  after 
night  in  the  thick  darkness,  inhaling  the  foul 
vapors  and  the  acrid  smoke,  longing  for  the 
morning  when  we  could  again  catch  a  glimpse 
of  the  overarching  sky." 

How  many  who  have  escaped  from  these 
pestiferous  places  in  the  South,  will  follow  him 
who  utters  these  words,  with  heart-felt  appre 
ciation,  while  he  tells  what  he  and  they  have 
thought  and  felt. 

"Think,"  he  says,  "of  this  death-life  month 
after  month!  Think  of  men  of  delicate  or 
ganization,  accustomed  to  ease  and  luxury,  of 
fine  taste,  and  a  passionate  love  for  the  beau 
tiful,  without  a  word  of  sympathy,  or  a  whis 
per  of  hope,  wearing  their  days  out  amid  such 
scenes.  Not  a  pleasant  sound,  nor  a  sweet 
odor,  nor  a  vision  of  fairness,  ever  reached 
them.  They  were  buried  as  completely  as  if 
they  lay  beneath  the  ruins  of  Pompeii  or  Her- 
culaneum.  They  breathed  mechanically,  but 


384  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

were  shut  out  from  all  that  renders  existence 
endurable.  Every  sense  was  shocked  perpet 
ually,  and  yet  the  heart,  by  a  strange  incon 
sistency,  kept  up  its  throbs,  and  preserved  the 
physical  being  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  wretched 
captives,  who,  no  doubt,  often  prayed  to  die. 

Few  persons  can  have  any  idea  of  a  long 
imprisonment  in  the  South.  They  usually 
regard  it  merely  as  an  absence  of  freedom,  a 
deprivation  of  the  pleasures  and  excitements 
of  ordinary  life.  They  do  not  take  into  con 
sideration  the  scant  and  miserable  rations  that 
no  one,  unless  he  be  half-famished,  can  eat ; 
the  necessity  of  going  cold  and  hungry  in  the 
wet  and  wintry  season;  the  constant  torture 
from  vermin,  of  which  no  care  or  precaution 
can  free  one ;  the  total  isolation ;  the  supreme 
dreariness,  the  dreadful  monotony,  the  perpet 
ual  turning  inward  of  the  mind  upon  itself,  the 
self-devouring  of  the  heart,  week  after  week, 
month  after  month,  year  after  year." 

Such  are  some  of  the  horrors  of  our  cruel 
war, — horrors  thrust  upon  us  by  the  unprinci 
pled  and  designing  leaders  of  a  wicked  rebell 
ion,  who  thirst  for  power  and  conquest,  regard- 


LIFE  IN   KEBEL  PRISONS.  385 

less  of  the  cost  by  which  they  expect  to  obtain 
them. 

They  hesitate  not  to  pass  through  rivers  of 
anguish  and  seas  of  blood,  if  it  be  necessary 
to  the  accomplishment  of  their  unhallowed 
purposes,  and  in  view  of  it,  one  can  scarcely 
forbear  saying  with  Cowper, — 

"  Let  eternal  infamy  pursue 

The  wretch,  to  naught  but  his  ambition  true." 


RALEIGH. 

Statement  of  Hospital  Steward  Butler,  of 
the  16th  Conn.  Regiment,  respecting  the 
prison  at  Raleigh,  N.  C.,  where  he  was  con 
fined. 

"This  was  comparatively  a  favored  place, 
and  any  one  going  thither  from  Andersonville, 
Millen,  or  Florence,  could  say,  'The  lines  have 
fallen  to  me  in  pleasant  places/  so  great  was 
the  contrast.  Doubtless  this  was  owing,  in 
some  measure,  to  the  strong  Union  element 
that  existed  in  the  vicinity.  The  expressions 


386  LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS. 

of  feeling  with  other  manifestations,  convinced 
us  that  this  was  the  reality.  Had  the  authori 
ties  allowed  the  people  to  contribute  freely  to 
the  wants  of  the  prisoners,  it  is  not  improba 
ble  they  would  have  fared  a  great  deal  better 
than  the  rebels  themselves,  but  the  citizens 
were  not  allowed  to  visit  them,  or  send  them 
luxuries  of  any  kind.  Although  this  was 
strictly  prohibited,  and  the  reiteration  made 
constantly,  that  nothing  but  ordinary  fare 
should  be  allowed  the  captives,  yet  the  friends 
of  the  Union  and  the  soldier,  outside  the 
prison  walls,  did  contrive,  in  various  ways,  to 
minister  to  the  wants  and  add  to  the  comfort 
of  the  men. 

The  ladies  of  the  city  were  not  at  all 
inclined  to  that  insulting,  abusive  manner, 
which  was  characteristic  of  their  more  south 
ern  sisters.  It  was  not  uncommon  for  them, 
while  passing  the  hospital,  to  throw  in  bouquets 
through  the  open  windows  to  the  poor  sick 
ones.  Many  similar  acts  of  kindness  and 
esteem  were  thus  unostentatiously  performed, 
so  that  we  felt  that  it  was  quite  to  the  praise 
of  the  good  people  of  Raleigh  that  we  were 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  387 

treated    with    so    much     consideration     and 
respect. 

Instead  of  the  loathsome  and  repulsive 
prison  pen,  the  abode  of  filth  and  indescriba 
ble  wretchedness,  we  had  comfortable  bar 
racks.  Instead  of  the  inhuman  and  barbarous 
usage  to  which  our  fellow  soldiers  had  been 
subjected  in  other  prisons,  we  were  kindly 
and  courteously  treated,  receiving  the  same 
attention  as  the  rebel  sick  and  wounded,  with 
the  exception  of  those  things  we  have  named 
as  restrictions. 

The  hospital  was  large,  commodious  and 
well  ventilated.  Beds  were  provided,  and 
comfortable  clothing  allowed.  The  food  was 
wholesome,  and  doubtless  as  good  as  could  be 
procured,  under  the  circumstances. 

Adjoining  this  building  was  a  large  yard,  or 
rather  field,  where  our  men  had  plenty  of 
room  to  walk  and  exercise.  Games,  also, 
could  be  instituted  to  relieve  the  monotony 
of  continued  confinement. 

Our  own  men  were  placed  in  the  hospital 
as  attendants,  and  they  also  acted  therein 
under  the  direction  of  the  Surgeon,  as  occa- 


388  LIFE   IN    REBEL   PRISONS. 

sion  might  require.  This  officer  was  a  very 
good  man,  and  did  all  in  his  power  to  make 
the  situation  of  the  men  comfortable  who 
were  suffering  from  disease.  The  supply  of 
medicines  was  quite  good,  and  all  reports  and 
statements  concerning  things  in  the  hospital 
were  received  without  the  least  intimation  of 
distrust  or  lack  of  confidence,  for  unlike  some 
of  whom  mention  has  been  made,  we  could 
rely  upon  their  word  when  once  pledged  to 
us.  The  men  who  died  in  their  hands  were 
decently  buried,  something  that  can  not  be 
said  of  the  thousands  who  perished  at  Ander- 
sonville,  for  they  were  buried  in  a  manner 
that  reflects  everlasting  disgrace  upon  the 
vaunted  "Southern  chivalry" 


CAMP   LAWTON. 

The  following  is  the  testimony  of 
Goodyear  wHo  was  removed 

from  Andersonville,  Ga.,  to  the  prison  known 
as  Camp  Lawton,  near  Millen,  in  the  same 
State,  on  the  1st  of  November,  1864.  It  was 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  389 

pleasantly  situated,  about  eighty  miles  north 
of  Savannah,  in  a  country  where  pine  forests 
abounded.  Indeed  these  were  a  prominent 
feature  in  the  external  surroundings  of  many 
of  the  Southern  prisons.  Trees  would  be 
felled,  a  clearing  made,  and  here  located  the 
rude  structure  that  was  to  be  the  cheerless 
home  of  thousands  for  long,  weary  months. 
Could  a  voice  be  given  to  these  silent  groves, 
and  they  become  witnesses  of  what  they  had 
seen  and  heard,  what  revelations  would  be 
made  of  things  that  can  never  be  known  now ! 
The  medium  of  human  language  fails  to 
convey  all  the  meaning  involved  in  prison 
life  in  the  South.  It  is  true  that  a  great 
part  of  the  suffering  in  this  present  war, 
as  in  all  wars,  must  forever  remain  with  the 
secrets  of  unwritten  history.  A  few  who  were 
themselves  actors  in  the  tragic  scenes,  may 
rehearse  the  story  of  their  individual  experi 
ence,  and  thus  furnish,  as  it  were,  a  key  to 
unlock  the  gates  through  which  others  may 
enter  and  take  a  look.  This  is  the  only  way 
in  which  the  people  at  large  can  become  ac 
quainted  with  this  thrilling  portion  of  the  war. 


390  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

and   authentic  and    reliable    statements    are 
therefore  of  deep  interest  and  importance. 

Forty-four  acres  of  ground  were  enclosed 
by  the  stockade  at  Millen.  The  large  pine 
timber  which  was  cut  down  at  the  commence 
ment  of  operations,  for  building  the  prison, 
was  left  upon  the  ground,  and  when  the  first 
prisoners  went  into  their  confinement  there, 
they  found  these  to  be  greatly  to  their  advant 
age,  for  they  were  able  to  construct  for  them 
selves  comfortable  huts  of  the  logs  and 
branches  lying  about  them  In  this  respect 
they  were  more  fortunate  than  many,  or  most 
others,  The  last  division  that  entered  had  no 
shelter  at  all,  or  at  least,  of  any  account.  A 
small  stream  of  good  water  ran  through  the 
center,  which  the  men  highly  prized,  particu 
larly  as  it  afforded  the  much  needed  privilege 
of  bathing. 

At  the  time  of  my  arrival  there,  the  list 
of  prisoners  numbered  nine  thousand.  The 
weather  was  very  cold  and  stormy,  and  as  the 
majority  of  the  men  were  very  poorly  clad, 
many  of  them  being  without  shoes,  blankets 
or  coats,  and  also  without  shelter,  the  suffer- 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  391 

ing  was  very  great.  No  medicine  was  issued 
to  the  men  within  the  stockade,  and  but  very 
few  were  taken  outside  to  the  hospital,  conse 
quently  the  mortality  was  fearful.  The  num 
ber  of  deaths  averaged  from  twenty-five  to 
thirty-five  per  day.  The  prevailing  diseases 
were  such  as  are  common  to  almost  all  prisons 
— the  scurvy,  diarrhea  and  rheumatism.  It 
was  no  uncommon  occurrence  for  the  morning 
light  to  reveal  the  pallid  faces  of  three  or 
four  prisoners  who  had  laid  down  side  by  side, 
showing  that  death  had  claimed  them  all 
during  the  night.  Such  sights  wrere  heart 
rending  to  the  most  unfeeling ;  the  most  sto 
ical.  A  prisoner  is  condemned  to  these  things, 
and  there  is  no  alternative  but  for  him  to  gaze 
upon  them  however  sad  and  revolting  they 
may  be.  He  must  steel  himself  against 
that  which  once  would  have  sent  sympathy 
through  his  whole  being — a  gushing  tide.  It 
could  not  be  that  the  fountain  of  pity  be  stir 
red  to  its  depths  so  often.  Nature  could  not 
sustain  the  pressure,  therefore  it  seems  that 
the  wrhole  is  something  like  a  martyr  process, 
in  which  the  very  juices  of  life  are  crushed 


392  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS 

out  by  an  uncontrollable  force.  At  the  begin 
ning  of  my  stay  at  Millen,  the  rations  which 
were  issued  were  double  the  amount  we  had 
at  Andersonville.  We  drew  one  pint  of  meal, 
six  ounces  of  uncooked  beef,  six  spoonsful  of 
rice,  one  tea-spoonful  of  salt,  as  our  allowance 
for  twenty-four  hours.  Beans  were  sometimes 
substituted  for  rice,  but  these  were  so  much 
eaten  by  insects  that  they  were  often  thrown 
away  without  being  tasted.  After  a  little 
while,  however,  the  quantity  decreased  every 
day,  so  that  they  became  nearly  as  small  and 
poor  as  those  issued  in  other  prisons. 

The  prospect  of  being  exchanged  or  paroled 
was  so  small,  that  some  availed  themselves  of 
the  opportunity  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  Confederate  government,  and  entered 
the  rebel  service.  The  inducements  which 
were  offered  them  to  do  this,  were  three 
bushels  of  sweet  potatoes,  a  suit  of  clothes, 
and  one  hundred  dollars  in  Confederate  scrip. 
I  was  myself  acquainted  with  quite  a  number 
who  did  this,  and  although  I  would  make  no 
excuse  for  them,  I  know  the  motive  by  which 
they  were  actuated.  They  saw  no  chance  of 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  393 

getting  out  of  prison  alive.  They  had  barely 
clothes  to  cover  their  nakedness,  and  they 
thought  to  prolong  existence  in  this  way,  and 
coupled  with  this  was  the  idea  of  escaping 
and  fleeing  to  the  Union  lines  at  the  very 
first  opportunity.  But  the  whole  thing  was 
considered  a  mean,  disgraceful  act,  by  every 
true  patriot.  I  wrould  have  died  a  dozen 
deaths  rather  than  to  have  been  guilty  of 
such  a  thing,  and  there  were  thousands  of 
others  of  the  same  mind. 

As  the  time  of  the  Presidential  election 
drew  near,  the  rebels  expressed  a  desire  that 
we  should  vote  upon  the  question  ourselves. 
Accordingly  ballot  boxes  wrere  procured,  and 
on  the  day  when  the  people  of  the  North 
were  deciding  the  momentous  issue,  wre  gath 
ered  together  in  Millen  prison,  and  in  the 
midst  of  great  excitement,  gave  expression  to 
our  political  preferences.  "We  knew  that  it 
was  war  or  peace.  As  we  deposited  our  votes, 
so  did  we  speak  for  one  or  the  other,  and 
show  forth  our  position  in  the  country's  cause. 

At  sunset  the  votes  were  counted,  and  the 
result  was  3,014  votes  for  Lincoln,  and  1,050 


394  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 

It  was  evident  by  the  deafening  cheers  of 
the  men,  that,  though  broken  in  constitution, 
their  devotion  to  the  noble  cause  was  firm  and 
unalterable. 

The  guards  by  whom  we  were  surrounded 
were  m6re  humane  than  any  that  had  been 
placed  over  us  at  any  other  point.  It  was  a 
common  practice  with  us  to  discuss  freely  the 
matters  relating  to  existing  troubles,  and  also 
to  trade  with  them  in  various  little  things. 
An  old  comb,  with  half  the  teeth  broken  out, 
would  bring  about  a  dollar's  worth  of  provis 
ions,  and  knives,  forks  and  spoons  would  bring 
an  almost  fabulous  price. 

One  thing  that  was  done  there  is  quite  char 
acteristic  of  rebel  barbarism.  A  surgeon  would 
examine  the  sick,  and  take  their  names  as  those 
to  be  paroled,  and  then  would  go  away  and  sell 
the  poor  man's  chance  to  whoever  had  money. 
Hard-hearted  as  this  may  seem,  it  was  never 
theless  carried  on  to  a  considerable  extent. 

We  were  finally  told  that  it  was  necessary 
to  remove  all  the  prisoners  to  some  other  lo 
cality.  We  were  curious  to  know  what  it 
meant,  and  one  of  the  men  sought  information 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  395 

from  the  guard.  "What  are  you  in  such  a 
hurry  to  remove  us  for?"  said  he.  "There  is 
a  right  smart  heap  of  Sherman's  men  coming 
down  through  here/'  said  the  one  thus  inter 
rogated,  "and  we  must  tote  you  away  before 
he  gets  here."  They  were  determined  to  ex 
ercise  vigilance  in  this  respect,  and  keep  us 
within  their  embrace,  if  possible.  We  might 
be  given  up  a  prey  to  Death, — this  was  of 
little  account,  for  in  the  silence  and  inaction 
of  such  a  state,  they  had  nothing  to  fear, — 
but  to  have  us  returned  where  there  was  the 
slightest  probability  that  we  should  ever  bear 
arms  against  them,  this  was  something  they 
wrished  to  prevent,  and  assiduously  sought 
to  do. 


396  LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS. 


THE  COUNTRY'S  SACRIFICE. 

As  we  conclude  the  sad  story  of  suffering  in  which  our  youthful 
soldiers  have  borne  so  conspicuous  a  part,  we  are  compelled  to  pause 
and  admire  their  noble  endurance,  their  cheerful  sacrifices,  and  pat 
riotic  devotion  to  country  amid  want  and  hardship.  They  deserve  a 
ricb  and  lasting  tribute,  but  we  feel  that  Sacrifice  finds  but  poor  ex 
pression  in  human  language,  though  it  should  be 

"  In  thoughts  that  breathe,  and  words  that  burn,"— 

for  heart-struggles  and  heart-histories  can  not  be  written  with  the 
pen,  or  spoken  by  the  lips.  There  is  no  appropriate  outward  mani 
festation  for  them,  nothing  to  mark  the  strength  and  energy  of  work 
ing  which  characterize  the  inner  experience  of  those  who  are  exer 
cised  by  them. 

That  the  present  war  in  our  land,  with  its  varied  calls  to  duty,  has 
caused  more  of  this  severe  inward  struggle  than  wil!  ever  be  known, 
we  do  not  question.  Doubtless  many  went  forth  actuated  by  the 
love  of  novelty,  the  desire  of  adventure,  a  thirst  for  excitement,  a 
hope  of  glory,  and  fondness  for  pro-motion  ;  but  aside  from  all  these, 
there  went  a  body  of  men  who  formed,  as  it  were,  a  mighty  wave  of 
patriotism,  rushing  down  from  Northern  hills  to  Southern  plains,  fill 
ing  the  would-be-conquerors  with  terror  and  dismay.  The  spirit  of 
sacrifice  marked  them  at  the  beginning.  "What  if  we  find  a  sol 
dier's  grave,"  said  they, — "What  if  we  sleep  upon  the  field  of  strife, 
unknown  and  unnoticed,  provided  we  fall  in  the  discharge  of  duty  to 
country  and  to  God!  "  This  feeling  was  wide-spread,  and  every  de 
partment  of  labor  turned  out  its  representatives.  The  merchant 
went  from  his  damasked  surroundings,  from  measuring  off  silks  and 
laces  for  the  dainty  children  of  Fashion ;  the  artist  laid  aside  his 
brush  and  easel,  and  turned  his  back  upon  the  charming  studio ;  the 
man  of  culture  turned  from  his  literary  pursuits  upon  which  he  had 
counted  so  much ;  the  student,  whose  delight  had  been  to  linger  in 
classic  halls,  was  suddenly  animated  with  new  zeal  that  must  needs 
be  cooled,  or  heightened  on  the  "  broad  field  of  battle." 

The  professional  aspirant  for  honor  ceased  to  wed  ambition,  took 
a  broader  look,  and  went  into  the  sendee  of  his  country;  while  the 
poet,  who  had  found  bis  soul  chiefly  blessed  in  the  utterances  of  lips 
"wet  with  Castalian  dews,"  felt  that  he  must  slake  his  thirst  at  other 
fountains, — and  he,  too,  was  seen  on  the  way. 


LIFE   IN   REBEL   PRISONS.  397 

The  minister  at  the  sacred  desk  felt  the  new  cause  blending  with 
uds  own ;  the  mechanic  and  the  artisan  laid  their  tools  to  rest,  and 
took  others  of  a  different  character,  wlierewith  they  might  strike  for 
Liberty  and  Right ;  and  everywhere  the  sturdy  yeomanry  declared 
themselves  ready  to  do  or  die  in  so  noble  a  cause.  They  laid  them 
selves  upon  the  altar  of  sacrifice, — and  who  shall  tell  how  rich  the 
offering,  how  precious  the  incense,  that  went  up  therefrom !  If  it 
be  wise  to  talk  of  anything  pertaining  to  mortals,  as  being  worthy 
to  be  recorded  "  as  with  a  pen  of  iron  and  the  point  of  a  diamond," 
then  might  choice  paragraphs  be  culled  from  the  sacrificial  records 
of  these  times,  for  posterity,  ages  down,  to  admire.  The  nobility  of 
manhood  has  been  vastly  increased  thereby,  and  lofty  purposes  and 
sentiments  been  written  that  do  honor  to  mankind. 

It  is  true,  the  voice  of  lamentation  is  heard  for  those  who  are  not. 
There  is  mourning  for  the  many  who  have  fallen  upon  the  field  of 
battle,  and  the  thousands  who  have  died  in  prisons  and  hospitals ; 
but  if  it  be  true  that  men  live  in  actions  more  than  in  moments,  in 
deeds  more  than  in  years,  it  may  be  these  have  accomplished  more 
for  the  cause  in  which  they  were  engaged,  by  their  death,  than  they 
could  have  done  in  life. 

A  leaf  of  geranium,  withered  and  faded,  lay  upon  the  table  as  I 
sat  musing  upon  these  things,  and  the  fragile  thing,  broken  from  its 
Stem,  suggested  points  of  contrast  between  itself  and  that  living, 
breathing  plant  of  human  society,  which  had  been  torn  from  the 
place  where  it  had  been  wont  to  grow,  and  made  to  droop  and  die  hi 
consequence.  A  fragrance,  rich  and  sweet,  came  from  the  crushed 
and  bruised  leaf,  more  diffusive  by  reason  of  pressure,  and  it  raised 
the  inquiry,  whether  there  might  not  be,  after  all,  holier  and  more 
blessed  influences  attending  the  hidden  properties  which  a  mighty 
power  had  wrung  out  of  the  heart  of  the  nation,  than  would  have 
been  apparent  if  it  had  never  been  subjected  to  such  a  process  ? 

The  delicate  juices  which  conveyed  such  odor  to  my  grateful  sen 
ses,  were  as  a  voice  that  told  how  the  country  had  been  enriched  by 
what  had  been  evolved  in  the  struggle  to  which  it  was  called,  and 
how  individuals  had  been  blessed,  because  the  springs  had  been 
touched  which  opened  the  cells  where  the  most  precious  incense  was 
stored. 

Altogether,  it  whispered  of  the  power  and  blessedness  of  sacrifice, 
for  it  made  manifest  the  value  of  those  costly  offerings  which  have 
been  laid  upon  the  nation's  altar,  and  which  so  many  have  thought 
to  be  made  in  vain.  It  invested  the  sighs,  tears  and  groans  that 


398  LIFE   IN   REBEL  PRISONS. 

Inve  been  involved,  with  a  peculiar  sacredness,  for  they  have  no 
unimportant  mission  to  perform  in  creating  the  more  fragrant  atmos 
phere  which  is  to  surround  the  people  of  coming  time.  More,  indeed, 
has  been  demanded,  than  was  anticipated.  Had  the  veil  been  up 
lifted  in  that  day  when  the  few  thousands  thought  themselves  suffi 
cient  to  annihilate  the  opposing  host,  and  the  long  catalogue  of 
death,  disaster,  and  disappointment  been  seen,  who  but  would  have 
started  back,  appalled  at  the  terrible  sight  ? 

Who,  in  the  prospect,  would  have  thought  he  could  pass  through 
the  fiery  ordeal,  certainly  without  being  crushed,  never  to  rise  again? 
Standing  then  upon  the  hill-top  and  looking  out  with  prophetic  vision 
upon  scenes  of  carnage  that  were  to  drench  the  virgin  soil  with  blood  ; 
with  keen  sensibility  of  hearing,  listening  to  the  wailing  and  lamenta 
tion  that  was  to  be  known  through  the  land, — who  would  not  have 
prayed  with  an  agonized  heart  to  be  spared  from  beholding  the  time 
in  fearful  reality  ?  Such  a  picture  spread  before  us  in  the  summer  of 
'61,  as  the  sure  embodiment  of  what  was  to  come,  would  have  filled 
every  beholder  with  dismay,  and  sent  the  exclamation  to  every  lip — 
Can  it  be  possible  ? 

But  such  is  not  Divine  appointment  Slowly  He  reveals  to  men 
what  they  are  to  do  and  to  suffer,  and  with  the  revelation  mercifully 
gives  strength  to  meet  it.  When  He  calls  to  great  sacrifices,  He 
gives  the  needful  preparation,  whether  it  be  to  individuals  or  nations, 
When  He  has  a  great  work  to  perform,  He  provides  the  necessary 
materials,  whether  it  be  in  men  or  means,  that  the  work  may  be  well 
accomplished.  Amid,  then,  all  the  apparent  tumult  and  discord,  the 
trials  and  sorrows,  the  fears  and  sacrifices  of  these  troublous  times, 
there  is  reason  why  the  children  of  men  should  comfort  their  hearts 
and  even  rejoice,  because  He  who  sits  upop  the  throne  of  the  uni 
verse  knows  full  well  the  best  methods  of  action,  the  wisest  discipline 
for  the  times,  and  is  surely  pledged  to  make  Right  triumphant  in  the 
end,  Peac^  was  the  watchword  at  the  beginning  of  His  reign,  and 
it  chall  be  the  crowning  glory  of  the  same  at  the  last.  Then  let  the 
fearful  and  anxious  hear  a  voice  from  heaven  saying  unto  them— 

"  Dismiss  thy  fears,— the  ark  is  mine.'- 

Let  them  also  hear  the  words, — Sacrifices  are  never  lost. 


AGENTS.  399 

AGENTS    "WANTED 

.A.S  we  slaall  sell  this  work  by  traveling  agents  ex 
clusively,  we  call  to  our  aid.  all  who  are  willing  to 
assist  us  in  circulating  this  volume  through  the 
length  and.  breadth  of  the  land.  Every  man,  woman 
and  child  should  peruse  these  pages,  and  let  the 
truths  narrated  take  firm  hold  of  their  minds  and 
sink  deep  into  their  hearts. 

Old  men,  young  men,  soldiers,  and  ladies !— if  yon 
will  only  spread,  the  facts  on  this  subject  through 
the  entire  North ,  i  t  will  raise  a  storm  of  indignation, 
the  power  of  which  will  be  felt  through  the  entire 
South,  from  the  banks  of  the  3?otomac  and.  Ohio  to 
the  shores  of  the  G-ulf  of  Mexico. 

"We  suppose  people  will  complain  of  the  price  of 
this  work  as  of  every  thing  else.  Four  years  ago 
$1.25  would  have  been  a  fair  price.  We  have  added 
only  4O  per  cent.  IPaper  has  advanced  12O  per 
cent.,  binders'  cloth  4OO  per  cent.,  binders'  board 
19O  per  cent.,  gilding  1OO  per  cent.  The  stock  is  85 
per  cent,  of  the  cost  of  making  a  book.  On  top  of  all 
this  we  have  to  pay  a  heavy  government  tax.  The 
book  should  sell  at  $2.5O.  We  have  lost  $6,OOO  in. 
the  book  business  the  past  four  or  five  years,  be 
sides  our  time,  and  the  use  of  $1O,OOO  to  $15,OOO 
on  capital;  yet  we  have  not  made  $3OO  bad  debts. 
Tv~e  have  sold  books  less  than  cost.  This  is  the 
trouble.  Address  ^  STKBBINS,  Publisher, 

Hartford,  Ct. 

C.  W.  STEBBINS,  Columbus,  Ohio,  General 
Agent  for  Ohio,  Indiana,  Michigan,  and  Kentucky. 


400 
HSTIEW 

NATIONAL  ENGRAYING, 

FROM   A   STEEL   PLATE, 

ENTITLED  "READING  THE  PROCLAMATION  OF  EMANCIPA 
TION  IN  THE  SLAVES'  CABIN." 


This  is  a  beautiful  illustration  of  a  great  event  in  the  world's  history 
— the  emancipation  of  slavery  in  the  United  States  will  ever  be  so  con 
sidered  by  all  civilized  nations  and  for  all  time  to  come. 

The  sight  of  this  engraving  will  always  produce  happy  reflections 
in  the  minds  of  every  Christian  and  philanthropist,  and  should  adorn 
the  dwelling  of  every  family  in  our  country. 

It  is  the  most  appropriate  illustration  that  can  be  made,  as  it  repre 
sents  the  onlv  way  in  which  the  glorious  news  could  reach  the  down 
trodden  and  oppressed  slaves,  viz. :  through  the  faithful  soldier,  with 
out  whom  the  -Proclamation  would  ever  have  remained  a  dead 
letter. 

The  design  is  entirely  original,  by  a  bank  note  artist,  and  is  truly 
elegant.  The  engraving  is  by  one  of  the  best  workmen  in  the  coun 
try,  and  is  superbly  executed. 

We  want  agents  to  canvass  all  parts  of  the  country.  Liberal  com 
pensation  will  be  given.  Sold  by  agents  only. 

Remit  $2.50  and  we  will  forward  sample  print  by  mail  with  condi 
tions  to  agents,  post  paid,  or  will  send  circular  free. 

Size  21 £  by  25  indies,  on  fine,  heavy,  plate  paper. 

L.  STEBBINS, 
Hartford,  Ct. 


RETURN  CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT 

202  Main  Library  642-3403 


LOAN  PERIOD  T 

2 

3 

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LIBRARY  USE 

This  book  is  due  before  closing  time  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


SEC.CIR.NOV  25  78 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BERKELEY 
FORM  NO.  DD6A,  7m,  3/78  BERKELEY,  CA  94720 


®s 


IF  CHIFOIUnr- 


HE   UNIVERSITY   OF   CALIFORNIA- V:    LIBRARY   OF   THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   C 


THE    UNIVERSITY   OF   CHIFORNU 


LIBRARY   OF   THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   I 


